Breaking the Habit
by OtakuWest
Summary: Inoichi decides that Naruto needs a little help in order to understand what he can do with his future. That same day an incident causes him to meet Kurama first hand and strike a deal. After realizing he is the son of the Yondaime he takes it upon himself to Break his Habit of being the class clown... to an extent. NaruIno Let us see what is in store with this story of a lifetime!
1. Breaking the Habit

**Hello Everyone! Long time no see I suppose. Now the few of those that are following me, I'm sure you are all confused as to why I would even start a new series... well it's actually bit embarrassing I forgot my fanfic flash drive at work and over my college spring break the office is closed... and so I had to go without it. So this came to pass after reading several... and I do mean several Naruto fanfics, and I got a lot of good ideas that I couldn't help but start writing this. Now this will be slow progression as I will fabricating a new storyline in some cases, new teams, and of course a more powerful Naruto. Now I know this may be over done, but in all honesty that's what fanfics are for. Also there are so many characters to get down, fluffles to plan out, and of course making sure it makes sense and is enjoyable. So without further ado the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the Naruto franchise**

 **As Always Everyone please support the Official Release and Enjoy!**

Chapter 1: Breaking the Habit

The sun shone brightly upon Konoha, in the country known as The Land of Fire. One of the main five elemental nations, and much like the other nations they contained one of their most proficient and deadly military weapons; Ninja. These ninja, or Shinobi, were incredibly skilled people who could wield Chakra in mass quantities. Capable of great destruction, but also great feats of healing and resurrection. Like many of them it all began in one single place, and that would be the Ninja Academy. These Academies are located within the many Hidden Villages scattered throughout the continent. The most reputable of the village are as follows; The Village Hidden in the Leaves, The Village Hidden in the Sand, The Village Hidden in the Mist, The Village Hidden in the Clouds, and The Village Hidden in the Stone. Now there are Villages that train their own Ninja outside of these Villages such as the Village of Sound, but in the end they only get promoted to Chunin when they partake in the Chunin exams generally held within one of the Five main Hidden Villages.

Now each of The Hidden Villages have one main leader over their Shinobi within their control and they are known as Kage. They are the strongest within their villages, capable of feats practically beyond imagination. For many Shinobi it is their dream to become a Kage in their lifetime. It is no different here in Konoha. Though some people have some rather unique ways of expressing this. Such as a certain up and coming Shinobi…

"NARUTO!" A man's voice hollered in the distance, and it was followed shortly after by mischievous laughter

"You got to go faster than that if you want to catch me!" Naruto laughed continued jumping around, dodging all the other Shinobi trying to catch him

"Quit running you little runt!" Another Shinobi yelled, jumped forward in attempt to catch the troublemaker

"Why would I do that? Hahaha!" Naruto continued to laugh as he jumped down to the ground and seemingly jumping back up into the air

"Get back here Uzumaki!" Another of the Shinobi shouted and took off in the direction Naruto went

After a few moments, Naruto let down his arms with a fox grin on his face chuckling "Way to easy." With that he took off only to be grabbed by the scruff of his shirt and was turned around to come eye to eye with the big man himself; The Hokage. "Oh… Hey there Gramps!" Naruto gave a mock salute with his grin ever present, but it was quite obvious that he was sweating bullets.

"Hey there indeed Naruto." The Hokage, also known as Hiruzen Sarutobi responded with a smile "I hope that you'll entertain me with a meeting in my office."

"Uh actually Gramps I actually need to get to school and learn and stuff hehe…." Naruto chuckled nervously

"Nonsense my boy, I wish to have a nice long chat with you. I'm sure I can give a pass or something of the sort. After all I am the head of the school." Hiruzen said with a smile "Besides I wasn't giving you a choice in the matter." With a snap of his fingers a black clothed Shinobi with a mask that resembled a cat appeared next to him. This was one of his personal guard from the ANBU. "Take him to my office, and keep him there." With a nod the ANBU took Naruto and disappeared in swirl of leaves

Hiruzen let out a sigh, and began his walk back to the Hokage tower. As he walked he would take occasional glances up at the Hokage monument within the Village. In total there were four faces upon the monument and each of them were the previous Hokage's that had served Konoha in the past. His face was among them, the third one to be specific. He was the third Hokage, but due to unfortunate circumstances seven years ago he was also now the fifth Hokage. Though instead of reminiscing he was trying to figure out how on earth he was going to get them cleaned. Naruto Uzumaki has done yet another one of his famous pranks, but it seemed today he was really pulling out the stops with this one. Every single face had paint upon them from doodles to mustaches…. He thought he looked rather good with one to be honest.

He let out a sigh "Oh Minato how I wish you were here." With a shake of his head walked into the Hokage Building and made his way up to his office. Though before he entered he noticed a familiar blonde in the hall way "Ahh Inoichi-san, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

The said blonde, was indeed Inoichi Yamanaka. The man gave a small smile "Nothing to pressing Hokage-sama, as I'm sure you're busy with young Naruto."

Hiruzen waved it off "I can spare a few moments, what I can I do for you?"

Inoichi looked around for a moment before he spoke "Well it is about Naruto." Hiruzen rose an eyebrow, but gestured for him to continue "I was curious if you would allow me to speak to him. I've seen his most current prank, and well I know he will get nothing but ridicule." Hiruzen nodded grimly, he was all too aware of how the boy was treated. All because he was jailor of the feared Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Unbeknownst to Naruto that is. He doesn't know the reason as to why he is hated, ignored, and sometimes beaten. He doesn't even know who his true parents are. In which case would be the late Yondaime Hokage or Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. The only reason he does said pranks because it is the only way to get any kind of attention. He wants to exist, and so the best way for him is to do pranks.

"So why would you like to speak to him, Inoichi-san?" Hiruzen questioned in a serious tone.

"Well to be honest sir, to knock some sense into him." Inoichi stated bluntly "I know he will have plenty of potential as a Shinobi, but if he doesn't get his act together soon… well I don't know what could happen." Hiruzen was staring at the man at the moment with a blank face, but internally he was genuinely surprised

"How will you go about this? He is a very stubborn boy. Much like his mother." Hiruzen muttered the last part which brought a faint smile to Inoichi's lips

"I have a few ideas in mind, but I think one of the first things would be to give him some friends, and the resources to actually lead a somewhat normal life." Hiruzen was once again surprised and rose an eyebrow in curiosity

"You can't just force someone who doesn't want to be friends with the boy." Hiruzen stated "I also know the boy does not like to be pitied. He can't stand it."

Inoichi chuckled "My daughter would, by no means, mind to be his friend. Then there are also the Nara, and Akimichi clans who have nothing against the boy. They respect the Yondaime's dying wish as much as you do. Besides Hokage-sama, we both know you can't play favorites anymore due to the boy being in the Ninja Academy." He finished and waited until Hiruzen started chuckling

"'Nothing pressing' my old back Inoichi-san." Hiruzen continued to chuckle "Well I have no quarrels with you doing so. You do not need my permission for this, but I appreciate you running it by me." Hiruzen let out a content sigh "I wish you luck, but first things first." He had a playful smirk on his face "I have to handle said person's punishment."

Inoichi merely gave a chuckle "I'll be waiting at the monument then. Better to do it when he's working so he can't run off." Hiruzen merely nodded watched as Inoichi walked off with his hands in his pockets

 _"_ _Maybe there is indeed hope for this village, and for Naruto."_ Hiruzen chuckled and walked into the room with Naruto hanging upside down tied up and facing the Hokage's seat

"About time you showed up Gramps!" Naruto stated, but it seemed a bit off "I'm starting to get dizzy?" Sure enough when he was turned around his face was red from the blood rushing to it "C-can I come down now?" Naruto asked while trying not to looked distress

Hiruzen chuckled and waved his hand and the rope was cut letting gravity do its handiwork. Naruto landed on the floor with his eyes swirling, as the blood worked its way back throughout his body "Feeling better Naruto?"

"Uh-huh…." Naruto merely stated as he was trying to get his limbs to work

"That's good." Hiruzen stated as he sat down in his Hokage chair "Because as for your punishment you'll be cleaning all the paint off the monument."

"Uh-huh… wait WHAT!" Naruto yelled as his punishment was delivered to him without any sympathy at all.

. . .

Hokage Monument

"Stupid Oji-san…." Naruto muttered as he scrubbed away on the Hokage Monument.

Despite everything he was actually finishing up on the second face of the monument about mid-day. Though he was putting the minimum amount of effort into doing it. This much could be picked up by Inoichi Yamanaka. As he had asked to be put on observance of the boy he thought it better to wait till he was more close to being done.

 _"_ _I know I said I would knock sense into the boy, but where do I even begin?"_ Inoichi thought to himself

"Oi Ponytail!" Naruto called out, and a tick mark came across Inoichi's face

"What do you need Gaki?" Inoichi responded with a slight smirk

"I'm ready to go to the other face." Naruto stated pocketing his cleaning cloth and began pulling up himself up the monument.

Inoichi nodded "Good job, almost there Gaki."

"Whatever." Naruto huffed, and began gathering his supplies "I wonder if Ichiraku's will be open when I'm done."

Like that a lightbulb went off in Inoichi's head. If he could talk to Naruto over his favorite meal, and in his most comfortable environment no less. Nodding in approval, he decided to wait a bit longer before revealing his intentions to the boy.

. . .

It was beginning to be into the early evening as Naruto was half way done with the fourth face when Inoichi spoke "So Gaki."

"What do you want Ponytail?" Naruto stated as he stopped from his cleaning

He clenched his jaw, but relaxed it as he began talking "So I want to talk to you after you're done doing this."

Naruto's eyes narrowed and scoffed "No thank you Ponytail. I'm not interested, you probably only want to berate me or just yell at me."

Inoichi raised an eyebrow at that _"Well that's just great the villagers really put him a dark hold didn't they? Of course I'm not covering any Shinobi either."_ He let out a sigh and gave a mock shrug "Fine I was going to buy you some _Ramen_ , but I mean if you don't want to talk then fine by me."

Naruto's eyes widened, but then quickly became suspicious "What you going to talk to me about?"

 _"_ _Wow he managed to hold back his love for Ramen? There's a shell shocker."_ Inoichi stared at Naruto for a moment "To tell you the truth Gaki, about your future as a Shinobi, as a person, and the man the Yondaime Hokage wanted you to be."

Naruto's eyes widened when he realized he was serious "Alright! Just wait I'll have this last bit finished before you know it. Believe it!" As he was shouting, he was jumping up and down in excitement, and as he finished to start washing again there was an audible snap as a rope gave way and the next thing Naruto saw was the trees and his cleaning bucket falling down. He looked up to see a stone faced Inoichi grabbing the back on his black shirt.

"Well that close there wasn't it Gaki?" Inoichi stated as he wrapped an arm around the boy and began walking up the monument

"H-how are you doing that!" Naruto asked curiously as he tried to shake off the fact he almost met a very painful death

"Oh this?" Inoichi asked as they reached the top "Something that all Ninja need to learn of course. I'm simply putting Chakra into my feet to cling the monument." Inoichi finished lecturing and placed Naruto down "Didn't the Academy teach you that? I mean I know you just started, but I would have thought they would have covered that."

Naruto shrugged "I've stopped paying attention." Inoichi brought a hand up to face to pinch the bridge of his nose. Naruto immediately got defensive "Oi! It's not like I do it on purpose. The teachers ignored my questions, and refuse to help for whatever reason. So I stopped putting the effort in. Besides how am I supposed to know if I'm doing it right when I don't get told anything?"

Inoichi felt as though he had been stabbed _"They're purposefully ruining his education?! This is just ridiculous!"_ Inoichi let out a sigh "I'm sorry to hear that Gaki. I'll be sure to bring this up when we talk and to the Hokage as well. That needs to be addressed, but in the mean time I'll fix your lift and you can get back to work." Naruto groaned, and Inoichi smirked "What? Hey just because that happened doesn't mean you get out of your punishment."

Naruto let out a sigh "Just hurry and fix it so I, uh I mean, we can get some Ramen."

. . .

Ichiraku's Ramen Stand

"Ah! Now that's the stuff!" Naruto slurped up more noodles and let out a content sigh from the bowl in front of him

Inoichi had a small smile on his face "You get three free bowls Gaki that's it the rest is on you."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered, and continued to savor his favorite dish of all time.

They had finished about an hour ago with Naruto literally kicking it up a notch. It was hard to believe that he was really only seven years of age, especially with his talent for putting his mind to the task on hand. Though the real surprise was this boys appetite, it felt as though it could rival that of a Akimichi.

After Naruto finished with his third bowl he ordered one more, and paid for it upfront and counted the money he had left "One more is all I can afford." He muttered and then shrugged

Inoichi cleared his throat to get Naruto's attention "Alright so time for the real reason I took you here." He waited a moment to insure that Naruto was still staying attention. "Ok Gaki let's get one thing clear and that is I'm not like the rest of these pompous villagers." Naruto was surprised that he actually didn't notice the bowl of steaming Ramen was set in front of him by Ayame "So now that we got that clear, I want to make it blatantly obvious is that I'm going to help you."

"You'll what?" Naruto spoke just barely above a whisper his eyes wide

"I said I'm going to help you, and I won't be the only one either." Inoichi stated as he faced Naruto "You have a lot, and I do mean a lot, of potential. If no one can see that well they're about as blind as a bat." Inoichi gave a warm smile to Naruto "I want to help you get started, the Yondaime wanted you to be seen as a hero Naruto, and I plan on helping you with that. After all I've heard of your dream, and I honestly believe you can do it." Inoichi noticed Naruto's eyes began to get misty "Now with that being said, you have to be willing to put in some hard work. That means focusing on your studies. Now starting next week, I'll be picking you up at your school with my daughter so I can help. I know much more than those excuses of an academy staff."

Naruto couldn't speak. He could hardly breathe. When he finally managed to get a breath he finally spoke "Y-you mean it? Y-you'll train me? You'll help me, and not look down on me?"

Inoichi smiled and ruffled the boy's hair "Damn straight Gaki. Now go get some sleep you deserved it. We can talk more tomorrow, besides I have someone I want to introduce to you." As Inoichi stood up and turned to face Naruto he felt himself semi tackled and two pairs of arms wrapped around him. He looked down to see Naruto hugging him

"Thank you…." Naruto's muffled voice came through "Thank you so much. I promise to do the best that I can." Naruto looked up at Inoichi with a smile "I never go back on my promises."

Inoichi rose an eyebrow and rubbed Naruto's hair "You're welcome Gaki, now get going." He jerked his thumb away from the building, and Naruto, with a big smile, ran out of the food stand. He let out a sigh, but still had a smile on his face. He felt a tap on his shoulder to find the owner of the stand, Teuchi, with a ladle in his hand

"Take care of Naruto, the boy has had it rough." Teuchi stated and looked in the direction Naruto took off "It's good to know there are people out there who truly can look past the surface."

Inoichi shared a smile with Teuchi "I'll treat the boy as if he were my own son." With that he set off for home. Yet he felt something nagging at the back of his mind, and so going on a whim he went in the direction young Naruto took.

. . .

Somewhere in Konoha

Naruto was running, but not from joy that he was feeling minutes ago. As of now he was running in fear. He took his normal route home, but due to the later hours it meant some early drunks were going to begin their walk back home.

 _"_ _Why they are so angry with me?! I didn't do anything to them!"_ Naruto thought as he ran through the streets trying to get to his apartment.

This hasn't been the first time this has happened either. There were numerous occasions when this happened when he wasn't careful when he walked home in the late hours of the day. He didn't know why people hated him so much, or even why people last out at him when he wanted nothing more than to purchase food. Though right now he would take those hateful glares over this. Drunks were always the worst, they hurt him sometimes he's woken up in the hospital from the beatings they dealt. Yet oddly enough he wouldn't see them again. Though there were always drunks, and they always hurt him. He didn't see why this would be any different, that is until a kunai flew right by his head.

Naruto's eyes bulged from his head _"They're actually trying to kill me!"_ Naruto bee-lined into an alleyway and used it to propel himself up to the roof with the now known drunken shinobi behind him _"Why does my luck suck like this?! What did I do to deserve this?!"_ Tears stung his eyes as he continued maneuvering around in attempt to lose the shinobi.

When his apartment came into view, he felt a surge of hope go through him. If he could get them in the building he could use the traps he set to get free. At least that was the plan when before a kunai snagged the back of his shirt and pinned him up against a wall in the alley closest to his apartment.

When he opened his eyes to his horror he was dangling above the ground facing the two drunk shinobi, and he could do nothing but whimper "Aww, ish the demon brat crying?" One of the slurred "Shto bad no one caresh."

"You'll pay for everyshing goodsh for othing demon." The other slurred as well and pulled a kunai out of his pouch, while the other pulled back a fist and struck Naruto.

The blow hit Naruto in the face, and resulted on his hitting his head on the wall behind him, when he opened his eyes tears falling, but his eyes were no longer their beautiful blue, they were blood red and had a black slit down the middle. He was angry, but he was sadder as he spoke "What did I ever do to you? I don't even know you!"

The two men chuckled "Thatsh even worsh. You don't even remember your crimesh." He pulled back his fist again and gave a solid punch against the boy's forehead, causing him to whiplash into the wall, sending him into the realm of unconsciousness.

"Aww shtoo bad, I wanted to hear him cry shome more." The shinobi chuckled and pulled back his kunai "Oh well they'll thank me when he's…"

A cold voice spoke from behind "Mind Prison" Both bodies of the shinobi shivered and collapsed to the ground, and revealed an infuriated Inoichi "And they call themselves Shinobi." He spat on the ground "I know you're there ANBU, so come on out." Sure enough an ANBU with a boar on it appeared by his side "I'll be taking Naruto to the hospital, I suggest you take care of these two excuses for Shinobi and report to the Hokage. I'll be checking up with him so rest assured that if you don't it'll be your job." He glared at ANBU who merely nodded, but he could tell that he was ticked at him.

With that a sorrowful look came over his features, and he unattached Naruto from the wall and began roof hopping to the hospital. All things considered the boy wasn't too badly hurt, but that didn't excuse anything that happened tonight. When he finally made it to the hospital he was hit with the smell antiseptic, and a hint of blood. He made his way over to the counter, and after a few heated arguments with some of the medical staff had secured a room for Naruto. After getting him into the room, and getting a proper check-up, he was informed he would be fine by the morning. Soon after the nurse left an ANBU came in through the window, and it was thankfully one he knew he could trust. The said ANBU had a mask of a cat, and it had been multiple times that she had been there for Naruto.

Rubbing his brow looking at Naruto sorrowfully "Well I'll leave you too him, I need to check up with the Hokage, and then I'm going to bed. I haven't been out this late since my T&I career." He received a nod from the ANBU and he then took his exit out the window.

. . .

Inside Naruto's Mindscape

Naruto's eyes fluttered open, and at that moment several things registered in his mind. He was laying down in water, there were pipes everywhere, and finally he didn't recognize this place at all "W-where am I?"

 **"** **Ah so the brat finally awakens."** A voice boomed throughout the room startling poor Naruto

"W-who's there?!" Naruto shouted out

 **"** **Turn around brat, and maybe you'll see."** The voiced sounded once again through the room

Surely enough Naruto turned around slowly, and first saw a large gate in front of him, but what scared him to his core was the gigantic, orange fox "Y-y-you're the….."

The Nine-Tails grinned wickedly **"Yes I am indeed the Nine-Tails. The most powerful of the Bijuu and known as the Kyuubi no Kitsune."**

"W-why are you here?" Naruto stuttered out "Did I-I die?"

The Kyuubi scoffed **"As if I'll let a minor concussion end my container. Perish the thought. No brat you did not die, and to answer your first question I was sealed into you."**

"Sealed into me?" Naruto questioned now confused, but the more he thought about it, the more it seemed to make sense. The villagers calling him 'Demon brat', 'Demon', 'Demon runt'. It was because of….

 **"** **Me."** Naruto looked up at the Kyuubi with wide eyes that held some anger, but what caught him by surprise was the look of sorrow on the Kyuubi's face **"Don't look at me like that brat. Despite my past may make me seem like a terrible menace, which I won't deny, I am much more than that."**

"Why should I believe you?!" Naruto yelled at the Kyuubi "You destroyed a good part of the village, killed hundreds of good shinobi!"

 **"** **That may have been 'me', but it was not me that wanted to do such a thing."** Kyuubi shook his head minimally **"That night was a terrible night for everyone that was present. That included my previous container and your Yondaime Hokage. I may be the embodiment of destruction and chaos, but does not mean I that I do so needlessly. Though you should ask yourself why would I, destruction incarnate, decide to destroy a village out of nowhere with no possible gain? I may be seen as a demon, but I still have a will and moral compass of my own."**

Naruto was silent for a few moments before he spoke again "I still find it hard to believe you. I've gone through too much because of you."

The Kyuubi let out a sigh **"I suppose the better way to explain that would be to show you."** The Kyuubi closed his eyes, and slowly his form began to shrink down. Soon there was nothing, but one man standing behind the gates that contained him. He wore black dress slacks, an orange long sleeve dress shirt, rectangular wire frame glasses and spikey orange hair. When he talked again it wasn't as loud, but it was still deep **"There that should be more appropriate to hold this conversation."** He examined himself, and then back at the awestruck Naruto **"Come over here brat."**

Naruto shook his head and his eyes held suspicion "Why should I?"

 **"** **Because I can't show you with you all the way over there."** The Kyuubi let out a sigh **"I can't do anything to you because of this seal brat now get over here so I can show you the truth, and then maybe you and I can work out a deal."**

Naruto still ever hesitant, rose from the ground and looked at the now human Kyuubi. Looking for any hints of deceit or trickery. The Kyuubi was doing nothing more than holding out his hand formed into a fist. Naruto walked slowly over to the prison gates and stopped a few feet away from the Kyuubi's fist. Naruto looked at the fist and then up at the Kyuubi. He motioned with his head at his fist and the hand at Naruto's side. Naruto balled his hand into a fist and slowly raised to meet the Kyuubi's own fist. When his fist made contact a single bell chime was heard and Naruto's eyes glazed over. He began to fall backwards, but the Kyuubi caught his arm and rested him up against one of the cage bars.

 **"** **Took your sweet time brat."** The Kyuubi scoffed but there was a slight smile on his face **"We're going to go places brat, greater than you can ever imagine."** The Kyuubi crouched down, and rested his back against the same cage bar Naruto was leaning against **"Well let's see how you deal with that information first."**

. . .

Naruto let out a gasp as he jerked straight up from his sitting position, when he looked around he was still in the cellar location he was in before, which meant **"This isn't a dream Naruto. What you saw was also the real event that took place seven years ago, on the day of your birth."** The Kyuubi stated from right behind him **.** Naruto looked behind him and sure enough there was the Kyuubi leaning right against the same cage bar he was, with his head turned just enough for one eye to look at Naruto.

When this registered with Naruto then began to feel tears begin to well up in his eyes "S-so that means m-my parents w-were….."

The Kyuubi nodded with a slight look of sadness and remorse in his eyes **"Your mother Kushina Uzumaki, my previous container and your father also the Yondaime Hokage, and known as the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze."**

Naruto turned his back around, and rested it against the bar, and felt tears run down his face, but yet he had a small smile on his face "They did love me…. They didn't abandon me…."

The images of his parents were all there. The vision had showed the whole day and what had transpired. His parents were happy, and excited for the big day. Then that fight had transpired and everything went to hell, but yet his father had done everything in his power to do what he had to do, and that meant sacrificing his life. Then there were the last moments of his mother and father. They were impaled by the Kyuubi's claw, but yet the Kyuubi's eyes were glazed over with something else covering his iris. Their last words sounded through his mind, before he watched the seal, and the Shinigami do their work. It felt like a fantasy, but it also felt so real like he was there.

Kyuubi's eyes widened a little **_"Through all that negativity, he still found the positives."_** He felt a slight smirk tug on his lips.

Naruto wiped the tears from his face, and looked over at the Kyuubi and bowed his head "I'm sorry." Now Kyuubi's eyes did widened at that "I can see what you mean when you said you were not in control." After that a moment of silence followed soon thereafter until Naruto broke it again "Did you get along with my mother?"

Kyuubi chuckled a little **"I would see it as more of as mutual understanding than anything else. Your mother was quite stubborn in many ways, and so we tended to butt heads more often than not. Though she was far better than my first container."**

Naruto chuckled as well hearing how stubborn she was with an entity far stronger than she "Well I may be just as stubborn as she was, but I hope that I can get along with you."

 **"** **Oh?"** The Kyuubi rose an eyebrow **"You seem awfully willing to go along with this."**

Naruto looked at the Kyuubi "I want to be strong, and live up to my parent's expectations." Then Naruto got a mischievous smirk on his face "Besides I doubt you want to have a weak container."

Kyuubi's eyes looked shocked, but soon turned into a mischievous smirk **"Well brat I can see this is going to be quite ride."** Naruto gave a big grin to the Kyuubi **"So I guess that comes to our little agreement now doesn't it?"** Naruto looked at the Kyuubi signaling him to continue **"Alright first things first I want access to your senses. I've only been able to catch glimpses and it is quite annoying. Next when you're training you'll be doing it my way. You'll still train the other ways at that excuse of an academy of yours, but I know plenty more than they do. Besides who else will train you in being one with your Bijuu? Now finally….. you have to start eating something else besides that infernal Ramen!"**

Naruto looked appalled "B-but Ramen is the food of the gods!"

 **"** **Of all the things….."** The Kyuubi shook his head exasperatedly **"I'm not saying you have to stop eating it brat, I'm saying you'll have to eat something else besides Ramen. If you keep up your current diet you won't be nothing but the size of a runt."**

Naruto crossed his arms in a mock pout, but after a moment he eyed the Kyuubi before nodding his head "Fine. I, Naruto Uzumaki, accept your terms." And held out his fist

The Kyuubi smirked and tapped his own fist against Naruto's **"And I, Kurama Kyuubi no Kitsune, accept the following terms."** Another chime sounded throughout the hall, and with that the gates slowly opened around them, and the landscape around them changed

All around were rolling plains. There were trees and mountains in the distance yet was really surprising was there was actually a cottage nearby. It was pretty standard, but it was felt quite homey if one were to go inside.

"Whoa!" Naruto looked around wide eyed while Kurama examined his surroundings. "What just happened?!"

Kurama grinned at the sight **"We formed a bond that can't be broken brat. This will be an excellent place to train your mind."** He looked back at Naruto before looking up at the sky **"Well it looks like you're awakening, you seem to have a few visitors. I'll be keeping in touch brat.**

"But how will I get back to you?" Naruto questioned as he felt himself fading from the realm

Kurama grinned **"I'll tell you later brat, remember since our pact I'll be able to keep contact with you, now get going. I got some exploring to do."**

Naruto nodded as his began to further fade into nothing "Ok. See ya Kura….." before he could finish his name he vanished from his mindscape, leaving an amused Kurama to scout out his new broadened home.

. . .

Konoha Hospital

Naruto's eyes fluttered opened and was blinded by light "Gah! Stupid sun!"

The two other men in the room jerked their heads to Naruto, and let out a breath of relief to see him awake. After reporting to the Hokage about the attack Inoichi had not left Naruto's side, and the Hokage had come in early that morning to check up on him as well. It pained Hiruzen much to see the boy like this like many other times.

"Ah Naruto-kun I am glad to see you are awake." Hiruzen said calmly to get Naruto's attention

After Naruto's eyes finally adjusted to the light he finally addressed his visitors with a smile "Oji-san and Ponytail!"

Inoichi grumbled, and Hiruzen chuckled and gave the boy a nod "I see you're still giving your nicknames."

Naruto gave his famous grin "Of course! I wouldn't be Naruto Uzumaki uh I mean Naruto Namikaze if I didn't!"

In that short moment the temperature dropped, and a shocked Inoichi spoke "What do you mean Naruto? You're Naruto Uzumaki."

Naruto looked confused "But my father was Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage."

Now an even more shocked Hiruzen spoke "How do you know that?"

Both of the adults looked at him expectantly and Naruto felt ultimately scared until a familiar voice spoke in his head **"Well go ahead and tell them brat. No sense in delaying inevitable."**

Naruto jumped at the sudden intrusion of Kurama's voice in his mind, but he instead to his word and spoke "The fox told me…"

Hiruzen paled at the thought "What to you?"

Naruto found his voice more "The Nine Tails told me….. well more like showed my mother and fathers last day and moments… October tenth."

Hiruzen sat back in the chair he was sitting in while Inoichi just stood there dumbfounded. Hiruzen's mind was running wild, but his first concern was the boy "It didn't do anything to you did it?"

Naruto shook his head "He's actually not that bad really." This lead to shock of the men before him "I found out that he was under something called a 'genjutsu'?" Naruto shrugged and continued "That entire night was caused by one man, and yet he doesn't even know who, but he knows it was an Uchiha and an older one at that."

Hiruzen sat straight up in his chair "Are you sure about this?" He asked sternly catching Naruto off guard

"Y-yeah. His eyes were glazed over in the memory and I saw that red and black thing that the Uchiha's had when they were angry, before they were uh…. Yeah." Naruto finished scratching the back of his head. He remembered the day after that event quite well. For some reason the villagers blamed him for it, but now he could see why... but it wasn't true

Hiruzen let out a sigh, before sitting back in his chair again feeling a headache coming "Well if that is to be believed then there is nothing we can really do now since now there is only one remaining, and I severely doubt he was behind it." Then he looked at Naruto for a moment "I am skeptical Naruto-kun are you sure you can trust i…."

"Him."

"Sorry?" Hiruzen tilted his head in confusion

"He's not an 'it'. He's a male." Naruto stated matter of fact "He doesn't like to be referred as an 'it'."

"I-I see." Hiruzen said as rethought his question "Can you trust 'him' Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked down at his hands for a moment, before looking up at Hiruzen with a small smile "Well he may be the reason the village hates me for it, but in his own he apologized to me. He let me know the question I wanted know the answer for so long." Hiruzen felt his heart squeeze with guilt. "What better way to find out that my idol, was indeed my father?" With a bigger smile he said "He even said he would train me. He's given me more than most villagers." Inoichi looked a bit down about that, but Naruto quickly spoke up "But I'll still take your offer Ponytail. I'm going to need all the help I can get. After all he can only teach me so much after all."

Both Hiruzen and Inoichi were shocked with Naruto's honesty. Most would think he would be furious with both the fox and his parents, but yet here he was smiling. Though it was obvious there was still hurt behind his eyes, and then there was the problem with the villagers. Even still he chose to smile, and took the good that could be found in the bad. In Hiruzen's mind, this would make Minato more than proud of his son.

"Well be that as it be Naruto-kun, I will be having a student of mine checking on the seal sometime in the future just for security reasons." Hiruzen stated after a moment of letting Naruto's words sinking in

Naruto nodded "That's sounds reasonable, and he agrees as well."

Hiruzen rose an eyebrow "He's fine with being in his 'jail cell' so to speak?"

Naruto was quiet for a moment before he spoke "He doesn't really consider a 'jail cell' as you put it, but more like a personal challenge. He does miss his freedom, but I think anyone would." Hiruzen nodded.

Inoichi even found himself nodding "I'm still kind of surprised."

For another moment Naruto was quite "Well he finds that it is far more enjoyable to actually cooperate than to resist even make its own existence miserable."

At first Hiruzen was willing to ignore, but the second time Naruto hesitated in answering he had to sate his growing curiosity "Naruto-kun… are you communicating with it right now?"

Naruto nodded his head "We made a pact with each other for his power and training he has access to my senses, and…" Naruto made a gulping sound before a stream of tears flooded down his face "Limit my Ramen intake!"

Both men in the room hung their heads at the reasoning behind it all, before Hiruzen spoke once more "Well if that is all that pact had entailed I don't see much harm in that. So what do you plan on doing now Naruto-kun?"

Naruto pondered that for a moment before looking down "I don't really know. I mean I'm willing to take on Inoichi's offer, but with what happened last night." Naruto wrapped his arms around his chest "I don't know if I can go back there."

Inoichi looked at Naruto for a moment, before turning to Hiruzen "Hokage-sama, I may have an offer you may be willing to listen to."

"Pray tell." Hiruzen replied with a risen eyebrow

"Next door to my house, is a ranch style housing unit." Inoichi stated "It's up for rent or sale, and if the gaki here is willing to work a bit at our little shop, I don't mind paying for about half of his house payment."

Naruto shook his head "I wouldn't even have enough funds to cover the other half of the house Ponytail. I can't possibly do that."

Inoichi rose an eyebrow at Naruto before facing Hiruzen again "I'm sure since the boy has found out his heritage he's at entitled to a little bit of 'compensation' Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen's face went from curious to amused in an instant "I'm sure that I can give him one of his saving bonds without trouble." Naruto's eyes widened, and Hiruzen turned to face him "Unfortunately that is all I can give you Naruto-kun. During the brief encounter with you father I had, he was rather adamant about you being able to protect yourself or be the rank of Chunin before you were even supposed to know of your heritage, but now as it stands this is it, before I can give you any more of your heritage…. That is except for one thing, as this was from your mother." Naruto cocked his head to the side "An Uzumaki clan scroll. You may very well have their bloodline Naruto-kun besides longevity and possible fuinjustu adaption. Their known as Charkra Chains. I'll expect you to stop by some day to pick it up so you can study your clan's ways. Unfortunately you'll be forced to learn those on your own. As there no other Uzumaki's known."

Naruto nodded slowly still in somewhat of a daze before he asked "What should I do about my name?"

Hiruzen let out a sigh "I'm afraid you'll have to remain an Uzumaki. Even if certain events did not take place you would have been Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto cocked his head to the side confused "As you know Naruto-kun, the Yondaime single handedly defeated the Iwa nation's shinobi forces. You can probably see that he had gained a lot of enemies, and so for the safety of his family his marriage remained unknown. Now when you turn Chunin it will be publicly announced as at that time Minato stated that you would be strong enough to defend yourself. I hope that is reason enough Naruto-kun."

After a moment Naruto gave a smile "Well I have my father's looks, and that's enough for me. I'm more than happy to keep my mother's name." He scratched the back his head "I know this sounds bad, but I'm pretty sure those drunks did me a favor huh?"

"It would seem so." Hiruzen let out a sigh "Well I got paperwork to do, and I have to go get your saving's bond ready." He looked over at Inoichi "Inoichi-san I would suggest getting ahold of the real estate agency and tell them that the property is bought." Inoichi nodded "Stop by this afternoon and I should have everything ready for you." Then he shifted his gaze over to Naruto "Naruto-kun this the most I can do for you at this time, you'll still get your stipend, but from that point on it is all up to you to spend the money you will be given."

Naruto felt like he was going to cry, but he didn't he kept them at bay, and nodded with the biggest smile he could manage. Inoichi smiled along with Hiruzen before he spoke "Alright gaki if that's the case then when we get your home finalized I guess my wife and I will be giving you accounting lessons." Naruto nodded again with the smile on his face

Then after a moment something dawned on him "What will I do about furniture or appliances? They all came with the apartment, I can't take them with me."

Inoichi chuckled "Well I guess I should also mention that house came fully furnished. So that ought to save you a pretty yen or two. Anything else? Well there is the clothes problem, those look a bit worn down…." Then Inoichi got an evil smile on his face "I believe I'll leave that to my dear wife and daughter."

Naruto tilted his head to the side in confusion, while Hiruzen looked at Inoichi warily _"I feel sorry for you Naruto-kun. Inoichi-san you are quite dangerous."_ Hiruzen cleared his throat "Well now that everything is taken care of I have paperwork to do." Hiruzen stood up and popped his back with a relieved sigh "I'll see you both this afternoon." With that he walked out, before giving one last detail "Oh before I forget Naruto-kun, I'll take care of the closing deal on your apartment so you can focus on your tor… I mean shopping trip."

Naruto nodded with a smile, and threw off the covers jumping into his worn sandals "Let's go Ponytail!"

Inoichi grumbled at his nickname but never the less smiled "Alright gaki, first things first get that house reserved, and then check out the property." With another nod from Naruto the two made their way out back into Konoha.

The streets were bustling with activity as it was every day in Konoha. Merchants were selling their wares to civilian and shinobi alike. Gossip was flying around about the latest trends, ninja exploits, and personal affairs. Though like every day when a certain blonde walked through the streets, glares filled the eyes of the ones that knew of his little secret but were forbidden to even to mention it. It sickened Inoichi to no end, but when he looked down at Naruto he had the biggest smile on his face. Even some people couldn't bring themselves to glare at the boy. Inoichi merely smirked and continued walking to the Yamanak clan compound, where he was sure Naruto would get quite the welcome.

. . .

Yamanaka Clan Compound

"Here we are gaki, welcome to the Yamanaka Compound." Inoichi said with a grin

Naruto looked around with curious eyes "It's different than I expected."

Inoichi chuckled "What did you think we would have walls surrounding us?" Naruto nodded, and Inoichi scoffed "We're not like most clans being stuck up and such, our clan encourages social interaction."

As they continued through the clan grounds, Naruto noticed they were smiling and waving to him "Ponytail, I have a question."

Inoichi grumbled "What is it gaki?"

"Do they know who I am? Or at least know what's inside of me?" Naruto looked down at the ground and stopped walking making Inoichi turn around and look at him

"Well of course they do gaki. Though if the reactions you're getting are any clue is that our clan doesn't really care, but I guess a better way to put it is we can see what you are, and not what the villagers make you out to be." Inoichi stated looking at Naruto

Naruto was genuinely surprised "R-really?"

Inoichi rose an eyebrow, and nodded "Have I lied to you before gaki?"

Naruto thought for a moment, and shook his head "No I guess not." Then he put on a smile "Well what we waiting for?! I got a house to buy."

Inoichi smirked and rubbed Naruto's hair and turned around walking off. Leaving a grumbling Naruto trying to fix the mess that is his hair. After another few minutes of walking they arrived at the real estate agency for the compound. It wasn't long before they were in intense negotiations. Naruto, who would normally ignore these types of things, was actually paying close attention. He would probably need to learn how to do things like this as he grew older. When all was said and done they managed to get a rather fair deal on the house, and Inoichi as he said paid for half of the housing, and the rest would be here by the afternoon.

Shortly after they left the office they found themselves right in front of the said property they had just bought. Like Inoichi said it was a ranch style housing unit, two bedroom, one office, one and half bathrooms, including a small storage unit, with a rather large backyard. To Naruto though it looked like a mansion. After looking at from the outside Inoichi stepped forward with the key in hand, but instead tossed it over to Naruto.

"Here gaki, it's your place you do the honors." Inoichi had a smile on his face at Naruto's still dumbfounded look

Naruto looked at the key then at Inoichi "Really?" Inoichi nodded then gestured to the door.

Naruto walked up to the door, and slid the key into the slot and turned. There was an audible click, and the door swung open quietly. Inside, like promised, everything was fully furnished. There was a decent leather couch and recliner in the living room area. In the kitchen it had up to date appliances, a rather nice island in the middle with barstools surrounding it. This could all be seen from the front door. As Naruto walked in to further look around, Inoichi stood there watching Naruto explore his new home. After an half an hour of looking around Naruto met back up with Inoichi at the front of his house with another big smile on his face, and tackled Inoichi with a hug.

"Thank you…." Naruto said as few tears came down his face, "Inoichi-san."

Inoichi rose an eyebrow and patted the boys back, albeit feeling a bit awkward "It's alright Naruto. It's the least I could do." Then after moment coughed into his had "Alright well since that is taken care of it's about time we go meet up with my family."

Naruto nodded and followed Inoichi out of his new home. He turned around and locked the door to his new home, and pocketed the key.

Inoichi turned and walked a few feet and stopped right in front of the flower shop "Alright gaki, here we are. Our shop is on the main floor while our housing in upstairs. This will be where you'll be helping out from time to time." Naruto nodded in understanding. With that taken care of he walked into the building and a bell rang.

"Welcome to Yamanaka… Oh welcome home dear." A young woman came around the corner. She had long flowing blonde hair, that would have reached her waist, but instead she had it up into a ponytail. She wore a purple t-shirt, and dirt covered blue jeans "What happened to you yesterday I was quite worried."

Inoichi walked over to his wife with a smile kissed her on her cheek "I was helping the gaki here, and some… unfortunate situations arose." He stated and after she looked over to see Naruto she realized what had happened "Well it's in the past now, but I will tell you he is our new neighbor now."

"Really?" She looked surprised "Well that's great." She smiled at Naruto "Now Ino will have someone to play with."

"Ino?" Naruto cocked his head to the side confused "That name sounds familiar."

Inoichi chuckled "Well I would hope so you are in her class after all."

Naruto nodded "I know I've heard the name, but I don't think I've seen her."

As if on cue Ino came running around the corner calling for her mother "Mommy where do you… Daddy!" She ran over to Inoichi in a flash of purple, orange, and blonde hair and tackled him with a hug.

She was wearing a faded orange shirt with a long purple skirt, and her blonde hair only came to her shoulders. There was a hair clip keeping her bangs from hanging in front of her eyes. After a few moments of hugging her father she turned around and spotted Naruto.

They both looked at each other for a moment, before Ino walked forward and poked the whisker marks on his face "Why do you have whiskers?"

Naruto looked genuinely surprised, and uncomfortable… well maybe not the correct words it felt nice but given the situation it felt more awkward for him "I don't know I was born with them."

Ino's eyes went wide "Really? Wow, they look cute on you."

Naruto looked hurt by that, and slightly pouted "I'm not cute, boys are not supposed to be cute."

This conversation went on for several minutes between the two, and Inoichi and his wife Yami couldn't help but laugh. It would seem that Naruto and Ino would have no problems with being friends with one another.

"I hate to interrupt you two from your lovely banter." Inoichi chuckled at their flushed faces "But I just wanted to let you two know you'll be working with each other here at the shop since we're neighbors so Ino I expect you to teach what you know." Ino nodded with a determined smile on her face. Inoichi chuckled again and continued with an innocent look "Now that is out of the way it would seem that the gaki here would need some help with a new wardrobe." He looked away as there was now a glint in both his daughter and wife's eyes. "I was hoping you two could maybe help him out while I go talk with the Hokage."

"Well dear I would be more than happy too." Yami stated with a smile and latched onto Naruto's arm, who now had a sense of dread flowing through him. Inoichi stepped over to his wife and whispered into her ear, and her smile grew "Well if that's the case then, we should get going now and we'll meet you there."

In the next moment both Yami and Ino were at the door with a scared Naruto in between the two of them "W-where are we going?"

"Where all young new upcoming ninja's go to get clothing." Yami said with a smile, and Ino held the same one, but it held no comfort for young Naruto "Now then lets go!" She grabbed onto Naruto again and took off faster than anyone could see with Ino right next to her.

Watching the receding dust cloud, Inoichi couldn't help but feel a little guilty "Maybe I should have just helped him….." Shaking his head he locked down his store and proceeded back to the Hokage's office.

. . .

A Few Hours Later: Hokage Office

Hiruzen let out a sigh "I swear this paperwork grows every time I blink."

Inoichi chuckled "I'm sure it's just your imagination Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen chuckled himself "Maybe so." Then an irritated look covered his face "To think that apartment manager tried to pull double the money on his closing agreement. How has that boy put up with it all?"

"From what I have seen, he has been able to pull any good that has come from the bad." Inoichi stated with a sigh "Most people would have broken by now."

Hiruzen scoffed "Well now he'll be getting proper treatment. I'm still skeptical about the Nine Tails talking with him, but not much I can do about it right now." Inoichi nodded, and at that moment Hiruzen stood and made his way over to a safe that held some private possessions of his and Naruto's. Hiruzen pulled a scroll out of the safe that had a white whirlpool design as a seal. It could only be opened by the blood of an Uzumaki like Naruto "I never thought I would have to give this to Naruto-kun so early." But a smile came over his face "Well he was always full of surprises." He shut the safe, and walked over back to his desk right as a knock came on the door. "Come in."

When the door opened the eyes of both Hiruzen and Inoichi widened in surprise. When Naruto walked in he was almost a completely different person. He wasn't wearing goggles anymore. Instead he was wearing an orange t-shirt, under a white hooded jacket with thick black outlines. Instead of the blue shorts he was wearing he was now loose grey cargo shorts that had small kunai pouch on his right leg. His worn sandals were gone to find a brand new pair of black sandals. If weren't for the whisker marks they both could of sworn they saw a miniature version of Minato.

Though the only thing that was out of place was the obvious Kushina like glare that was directed at Inoichi "You left me to die Ponytail! That was pure hell!"

Shaken from his stupor Inoichi chuckled "Hey now I'm sure it wasn't that bad."

"Oh yeah?" Naruto shuddered "You didn't have to shop with them after they finished with mine."

"They didn't!" Inoichi was ultimately shocked, and he bowed his head "I am terribly sorry gaki, I didn't know you would have to go through that."

Naruto just shook his head "If I can get a meal out of it, everything will be fine." He managed the smile trying to get certain images out of his head. Poor Naruto had lost some if not most of his innocence during that trip to the clothing store, and it would not be his last time either.

"I consider that quite the fair trade indeed." Inoichi nodded and faced the Hokage "I am sure now it's your turn Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded, and gestured Naruto to come closer "Just a few things Naruto-kun and I'll let you go on your way. First." He pulled out a receipt slip from his robes "Your savings bond has been cashed, and placed within a bank in the Yamanaka compound. Your half of your payment has been sent to agency already, and your clothing fees have been given to Inoichi-san here." He then handed the slip to Naruto "Here is what is left over."

Naruto looked at it, and his eyes bulged "T-this is all m-mine?!"

Hiruzen nodded "Your parents were by no means poor Naruto-kun. They were excellent Ninja and so they had plenty of money to spare." Naruto looked down at the slip again.

His head jerked back up "but you said this was only a portion of it."

Hiruzen nodded once more "Indeed I did." He adopted a serious look for a moment "Do not let this burn a hole in your pocket Naruto-kun. Money fly's faster than you can imagine." With a serious nod from Naruto, Hiruzen continued "Now for the final gift" He lifted a scroll off his desk "This is the Uzumaki clan scroll as promised. Keep it secured Naruto-kun by any means necessary."

Naruto took the scroll and tried to open it but it would not budge "What gives Hokage-Jiji?"

Hiruzen chuckled "It's a blood seal Naruto-kun. You have to put a bit of your blood on the seal for it to open. It will only open with the blood of an Uzumaki as a safety precaution." Giving a nod in understanding, put the scroll in pouch that was behind his back and zipped it shut. "That is all I have for you Naruto-kun. I wish you luck in the future, and I look forward to what you can achieve."

"I'll make you proud Hokage-Jiji." He gave him a thumbs up and bright smile

 _"_ _You already have Naruto-kun, more than you know."_ Hiruzen thought with a smile, and spoke once more "Now I'm afraid I must be getting back to work, with this retched paperwork." He scoffed at the end glaring at the papers on his desk

Naurto was quiet once more "Hey Hokage-Jiji, the fox has a suggestion."

Hiruzen rose an eyebrow "Is that so?"

Naruto nodded "He said why don't you use something like a Shadow Clone. Whatever that means." Naruto said with a shrug

Hiruzen was at first shocked, and then he ultimately felt humiliated "I cannot believe it was so… simple." He covered his face with a hand, then he jerked up in his seat "Wait how does he know about that?"

After a moment Naruto answered "He said he's seen it before in his previous containers and knows their fundamentals. He even said he would teach it to me, to further my training. How I don't even know." Naruto shrugged

Hiruzen was a little angry that the Nine Tails would even suggest learning something so dangerous "You don't even know how to mold chakra yet Naruto-kun, and Shadow Clone technique is very dangerous. It's in our Forbidden Scroll for a reason, it takes quite a bit of chakra to make one let alone two."

Again Naruto was silent and then spoke "He said not to worry. He said for my age I have a ludicrous amount of chakra that I could make over a thousand clones."

Hiruzen paled "A thousand?" He was extremely worried, because the boy's reserves would only continue to grow at this point "You must understand one thing Naruto-kun, you cannot by any means dispel your clones all at once if you ever reach that amount. The damage it could do to your mind is not to be taken lightly."

Naruto nodded in understanding "I'll be careful Hokage-Jiji. The fox says that I will only be able to dispel them in groups of ten so that way that doesn't occur. I'm still lost on how it works, but I'll learn eventually."

Hiruzen nodded "Indeed. Well in that case." He made the Ram hand seal and next to him was the exact copy of himself and it began to work on the paperwork "I will be able to take care of other things that I need to catch up on."

. . .

Yamanaka Household

"Wow this is really good!" Naruto almost shouted as he dug into his meal

It almost pained Inoichi and Yami to see Naruto so excited over a semi decent meal "Well I'm glad you like it Naruto-kun." Yami said with a smile "You're welcome to stop over for dinner anytime."

Naruto nodded with a smile "Awesome!" Then Naruto continued to dig into his meal

Ino then came over with a napkin "You're being sloppy!" she scolded then tried wiping his face, rubbing against his whisker marks a sound emanated from Naruto that silenced the room, but Ino kept rubbing, and they found that "Your purring!" Ino stated, and brought Naruto out of his stupor his face beet red

"I-I did not p-purr!" He stated trying to hide flushed

Meanwhile both Ino and Yami both thought _"So cute!"_

Trying to save what pride the boy had left Inoichi spoke up "Well I'm sure Naruto has had a long day, and could use some rest especially since tomorrow he'll be helping out here at the store." Naruto nodded quickly

"Awwwwww" Yami and Ino pouted, but reluctantly decided to let him go home

As Naruto exited he turned around and waved "Thanks for everything Ponytail!"

Inoichi grumbled, while Yami chuckled, and Ino stepped forward and hugged Naruto and stepped back with a flushed face "I'll see you tomorrow." With that she ran back into the building, leaving a blushing Naruto behind as he turned and walked to his house.

Naruto was in a semi daze as went through new motions in his house. He took a 'hot' shower for once, and got into his new pajamas. When he finally went and rested in his bed did the memories of that happened today really come into clarity. He had a new home, new clothes, new friends, and a new future, and he was going to make the best of it. He would make his mother and father proud. He would go above and beyond the expectations this village had of him. He would show them all who he was, and that was Naruto Uzumaki. He was Breaking the Habit, and going to prove them all wrong. With a grin on his face Naruto slowly drifted off to sleep, and starting tomorrow he would begin his journey to be the greatest ninja the world has ever known.

 **So what did you think everyone? Now I know Ino's mom isn't a blonde and so forth, but in the anime she hardly had any screen time whatsoever, and before you ask, yes I read the manga, I know how it ended. So I decided to put a little mix into the story. Now as for Kurama questions, well I believe this is how he should have normally acted. He would have gotten a lot more if he acted this way in the beginning. That's just me though, and everyone is entitled to opinions. As you may know this is a NaruIno pairing, but I may make it harem, but I don't know I'll need some convincing. Now for Naruto's looks it will be basically how Minato dressed throughout his life, while the rest will keep their standard clothing through out what we see through the anime. Ok I think I got the general things down so if you notice something wrong let me know in a PM and I'll try to get back to you as soon as I can. Leave a review on what you think, and of course like and follow if you enjoyed till next time**

 **As Always Everyone please support the Official Release and Enjoy! Later Days!**


	2. Labor of My Love

**Hello Everyone! Well I was not expecting this big of start when I published this story. Now I'm going to point this out right now, that I usually don't update like this. This was just brought about because of the reactions that I've gotten for this story. I'll be answering reviews down at the bottom just to inform you all. I will only be doing five or six because there were so many this time around. So without futher ado the story!**

 **Updated: 9/27/2016**

 **As Always Everyone please support the Official Release and Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing from Naruto Franchise!**

 **Chapter 2: Academy Times, Fun Times, and Training Time**

It has been a few months since some drastic changes have been made in Naruto's life. A new home, new friends, and another shot at a successful future. Though right now all he wanted was for Ino to get out the door so they could go to school.

"C'mon Ino we don't have all day ya' know!" Naruto shouted in front of Ino's bedroom door

"I'm brushing my hair I'll be down in a minute!" Ino shouted back at her bedroom door and was indeed brushing her growing blonde hair

Naruto sighed and went back down the stairs where Inoichi was already sipping his morning coffee, and Yami was preparing a light breakfast. Normally they would have plenty of time to eat, but recently Ino has been getting into her looks. So in consequence they have almost been late a few times. He knew he didn't have to wait for her, but they've been close friends since he moved in next door. So he couldn't just bring himself to leave her behind.

Naruto grumbled as he took a seat in the kitchen "I mean we were almost later than Shikamaru, and he always the last one to class."

Inoichi chuckled "Now that is quite a feat indeed. Especially if he's anything like his father." He took another sip of his coffee.

At that moment Ino began walking down the stairs in her traditional outfit of a faded orange shirt, and purple skirt. She still had her purple brush in hand as she took a seat, and began to eat what breakfast was in front of her.

"Good morning Mom, Dad!" She said cheerily and looked over at Naruto and stuck out her tongue "Good morning to you too."

Naruto replied sticking his own tongue at her "Right back at you." When Ino turned her head back to her father Naruto noticed that the back of her hair was a mess, and let out a sigh and picked up her brush and stood behind her and began brushing her hair

"What are you doing?!" Ino jerked around and glaring at Naruto who had his hands up defensively

"Your hair is messy so I'm fixing it. Is that ok?" Naruto asked and after a moment Ino turned around with a huff without answering, but Naruto took that as a sign to continue.

As Naruto resumed brushing her hair, Ino closed her eyes as she leaned back in her chair with a small smile of content on her face. For those spectating it looked absolutely adorable. Inoichi had a risen eyebrow in contemplation, while Yami had a bright smile of 'knowing'. She knew plenty that the two of them had crushes on one another, but they were each unaware of the other.

After a few more minutes Inoichi coughed into his hand startling Naruto and Ino "I'm sure if you want to be on time you may want to go right about now."

Naruto looked over at the clock and quickly handed the brush to Ino "You got everything Ino?"

Ino grabbing her backpack and her bento from the counter "Yeah I got it let's go!"

And with that the two bolted out of the Yamanaka household with Inoichi shaking his head in amusement, and Yami laughing quietly behind her hand.

While on their way to school they actually ran into Sakura Haruno, her most notable features were her pink hair and to those who were mean enough to point it out her large forehead. She's a good friend of Ino's but for some reason or another doesn't like Naruto. Not that it bothered him much, he wouldn't let his friend choose one or the other he just let things be, and thankfully so did Sakura though lately…. Things have been heated between the two of them.

"Running late Forehead?" Ino shouted out

"I could ask the same to you Ino-pig!" Sakura replied as they began running more to the school in a race.

Naruto merely let out a sigh, and kept a comfortable pace behind the two of them as to not get between the two. He had done that once before, and it did not end well for him. So the race to school began… well at least for those two anyway. Because of course they were racing to see who could be the first to sit next to Sasuke Uchiha. Who, in Naruto's opinion, was by the far the most brooding person you could meet. The most you could get out of the guy was a grunt, that is unless you beat him something. Naruto excelled at this at times nowadays and it seemed to shock his class that he took things so seriously now. Though thankfully there was only a few people who actually berated him for 'surpassing' their 'precious' Uchiha. This is included Sakura of course, but Ino had decided to encourage Naruto. Even though she semi pursued the Uchiha it still hadn't stopped the little moments between the two like this morning.

As they approached the school building, Naruto jumped ahead of the two girls so he wouldn't get stuck behind the door to the classroom. With that done he was finally able to enter the classroom and take his seat at the back next to the spot that Shikamaru would sit at once he got there. He shared a fist bump with Choji before he sat down at his own seat. Seeing as he had a few minutes before class started he pulled up his hood and leaned against the wall to rest his eyes.

"Dobe."

Naruto let out a sigh, and kept his eyes shut "What can I do for you teme?" _"So much for resting."_ Kurama chuckled from within his mind

Now unfortunately for him this seemed to attract quite a bit of attention from everyone in the class…. Including the fan girls for Sasuke, and oddly enough Naruto's who he found utterly annoying, but he at least told them that he wasn't interested and talked to them as friends which in turn made them like him more… go figure.

"Don't call him that!" Sakura shouted at Naruto

One of the girls on Naruto's side who was named Yume shouted back with "He called him names first!"

Naruto put up a wincing smile and asked "Could you girls please not shout? Some do have sensitive hearing, and well it can be kind of rude though thank you for your concern." Sakura merely huffed, and Yume nodded with sparkles in her eyes. He turned his attention back to Sasuke "Now what can I do for you?"

"What did you get on the last test dobe?" He asked bluntly eyeing him

"What's it to you?" Naruto responded, trying his best not to smirk

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, he didn't like to have his requests questioned "It doesn't matter, just answer the question."

"Nooo. I don't think I will." Naruto leaned back against the wall, and shut his eyes. He ended up giving a 'shoo' gesture with his hand

"What's the matter dobe? Afraid you did worse than me? Like you could do any better than me, one of the elite." Sasuke bragged, stuck up his chin pompously

Naruto opened an eye at him and gave a slight chuckle "Whatever helps you sleep at night. I could care less how I did on the said test. I gave it my best shot, but in all honesty that paperwork means nothing to what we'll do when we graduate." And before Sasuke could retort "I would suggest you go take your seat, as you may know, our sensei will be hear any second now."

Sasuke merely huffed and sulked away to his seat where he would continue to brood the rest of his day away. After a few seconds Shikamaru walked in through the door with a yawn, and sat down next to Naruto and shared a fist bump with him before laying on his arms to sleep his day away. As soon as that happened the teacher walked in the class quieted down, and thus the lectures began.

. . .

Mid-day: Academy School Grounds

Naruto let out yawn as stretched as he walked over to his favorite patch of shade tree "Man this morning's lecture felt like it would take forever."

Ino giggled walking next to him "Well we all know math isn't your favorite subject."

Naruto chuckled and scratched the back of his head "Yeah you're right. How about you Shikamaru?"

"It's all a drag if you ask me." He grumbled walking alongside Naruto

"That's your answer for everything Shikamaru." Choji stated digging into one of his ever present bags of chips.

They all shared a laugh as they sat at their usual spot and broke into their lunches. Choji's of course was the largest of the bunch, but yet for him that was average. Shikamaru's was the most average of the group. Now if one were to look at Ino's, one would think she ate a lot, but all it was it had two lunches with in. One for Naruto and one for Ino. Shikamaru was first to finish, and so as he normally did, sprawled out onto his back and watched the clouds lazily drift on by. Ino went to talk with some other girls, Choji sat next to Shikamaru looking at nothing particular. While Naruto was surprisingly fast asleep resting up against the tree.

In another clearing there was a supervised spar taking place between the ever hotheaded Kiba Inuzuka, and the forever brooding Sasuke Uchiha. It was nothing too impressive considering they wouldn't be learning the academy style taijutsu until next year, but Sasuke already knew most of his near extinct clan's taijutsu 'Interceptor Fist'. So it was really a one sided match, not that it wouldn't help Sasuke's already inflated ego. After a few minutes the match was called with Kiba on the ground nursing his sore ribs, and a smirking Uchiha above him. Of course there was the cheering from his fan group, which he ignored of course. Without even bothering to offer any help to Kiba he brooded off somewhere on the school grounds.

"Wow, Sasuke-kun is powerful!" Sakura practically squealed in delight in seeing her crush win easily

Ino merely shrugged not all that impressed "He already knows a taijutsu form so it was kind of obvious who would win."

Sakura looked appalled "Even if the mutt knew taijutsu, there would be no way he could beat Sasuke-kun!"

This banter continued on until it somehow ended up with who could get Sasuke's heart first. That was how the rest of their lunch break was spent till the bell rang, and the students went to pick up their bento's and get back to their assigned seats. Ino rushed over to her spot by the tree and began picking up her bento when she looked up and realized Naruto had fallen asleep.

"He's just rubbing it in my face now." Shikamaru grumbled sitting up noticing how peaceful Naruto looked

Choji of course munching on his chips looking at the same sight "I thought he looked kind of tired this morning. Was he at it again Ino?" he looked over at Ino to see her staring at the resting blonde

Ino nodded and looked over at the two others "Yeah he was training in his backyard last night. I'm pretty sure he was studying last night too." After wrapping up their bento box she walked over to Naruto and then whispered into his ear _Free Ichiraku Ramen_

Naruto was instantly standing up "Free Ichiraku Ramen?! Where?!" He looked around frantically but noticed the three laughing friends of his. He pouted and looked over at Ino "That was mean Ino."

Ino stuck out her tongue "Would you rather me do the other 'thing'?"

Naruto waved his arms frantically "Nope! That was perfectly fine, oh hey bell rang I think we should go!" With that he bolted off into the school leaving a giggling Ino, and a confused Shikamaru and Choji

"So what's *munch* the other thing?" Choji asked as he stood and munched on his bag of chips

Ino blushed for a moment before shaking her head "Sorry you'll have ask Naruto that. That's an inside secret." She replied with a wink and rushed off after Naruto

"Troublesome girls." Shikamaru grumbled and walked lazily over to the school building with Choji right by his side.

. . .

Later that day: Uzumaki Residence

"C'mon Ino, you're the one who wanted me to help you with your taijutsu in turn for helping me with my math homework." Naruto let out a sigh as Ino sat on his back porch refusing to budge

"I don't want to bruise my arms." She pouted and crossed her arms

Naruto groaned "And I don't want mess with multiplication tables." She refused to listen and turned her head to the side. Naruto was beginning to get frustrated, but instead got an idea "How about this, we'll just cover the katas of the Academy taijutsu. No contact."

She turned to face Naruto who had a determined look on his face, and reluctantly nodded "Fine." She huffed and hopped off his porch "Let's get this over with."

With a thankful nod, they began running through the basic katas. It wasn't overly hard to do, and they wouldn't be required to know this till next year, but it doesn't hurt to know it ahead of time. Though Naruto already had the Academy taijutsu down flat, and was working on the Uzumaki taijutsu 'Linked Motion'. It relied heavily on the bloodline of Chakra Chains, or at least a type of chained weapon. Its main goal was to snag enemies and rip them to shreds in fluid motion. A true master of the style could have three hundred sixty degree defense, since the way they moved their bodies was spherical.

Naruto's progress on the 'Linked Motion' was painfully slow. The actual rotation wasn't that bad once you learned to shift your targets as you moved, but it was the weapon portion that the problem. There no weapons for his age, or size for that matter, that he could use to practice with. He also couldn't produce a single chain let alone a few chain links. According to his clan scroll he would have to wait a few years to be able to find out if he even had the bloodline. Though he was confident he did, he wouldn't count on it till he was sure he had it. So until then all Naruto could do was practice the motion so he wouldn't be disoriented later on.

After a couple of hours, and working up quite a sweat Naruto thought it time to stop "You're getting better Ino."

Breathing somewhat heavily Ino nodded with a small smile "Thank you! Well I'm gonna go shower, I'll see you in a little bit!" She waved and took off through his house to next door

This had been the norm for them for a while now. She would do some hands on training with him, and he would do some book work with her. A simple trade that helped leaps and bounds. He even helped Choji and Shikamaru from time to time of certain aspects. Though with Shikamaru it was more like playing a game of Shogi or Go, but he still managed to get the lazy Nara to do some basic katas. Surprising enough he could pick it up quickly and then he would resume his favorite hobby of cloud gazing.

So after a quick shower Naruto grabbed his pack and walked over to Ino's house. He opened the door and was greeted with the smell of flowers and potting soil "Afternoon!"

Yami poked her head from around the door to their green house and waved "Hello Naruto-kun, how was your day?"

"It was pretty good Yami-san." Naruto replied with a smile "I'm happy it's the weekend though."

Yami chuckled "That's good to hear. You ready to work this weekend?"

Naruto nodded "Yeap, it's a harvest and delivery day right?"

Yami nodded with a smile "Indeed it is, I'm assuming you'll be manning the cashier?" She had a knowing smile on her face, it was no secret that when it came to plants he didn't have the greenest thumb. Though he still tried from time to time to get better with them

Smiling sheepishly Naruto replied "Yeah if wouldn't mind, last time I nearly destroyed an order."

"It's fine Naruto-kun, we all make mistakes." Yami disappeared for a moment before reappearing "I do believe Ino is waiting for you upstairs, so go ahead, we'll talk about your shifts later."

Naruto nodded and went up the stairs leaving Yami to tend to the business. When Naruto came into the kitchen he was greeted with a freshly cleaned Ino, and a tired Inoichi, but was engaging with Ino with a smile.

"Yeah he was sleeping like a log." Ino giggled and Inoichi chuckled

"Is that so? How'd you wake him up, did you mess with his whiskers?" Inoichi smirked knowing full well Naruto was in the room

Ino giggled again "No, but I teased him with free Ramen."

"Oh my, that's almost as bad with him." Inoichi chuckled and turned to face a semi red faced Naruto "Well hey there gaki, you ready for your lesson or are you going to fall asleep on us?"

Naruto grumbled and sat down at the table "I won't fall asleep."

Inoichi just laughed, while Ino giggled and Naruto continued to grumble. Till finally they were able to get started on his math. It wasn't anything too complicated, but a little help didn't hurt, and besides all his assignments were copied and sent to the Hokage to have professionally checked. It was the only way for Naruto to get any fair grading. At the beginning there was a problem with falsified test being turned in, but it was taken care of when the academic staff got a thorough scolding, but just to be safe a copy of his homework was still sent.

After his homework was dealt with Inoichi and Yami talked with him about his shifts for the weekend, and did a little bit of accounting exercises with him so he was on top of his money situation. After it was all said and done it was around ten at night when Naruto went home, and crashed into his bed.

. . .

A Few Months Later (Summer): Yamanaka Flower Shop

Naruto was sitting patiently at the cash register waiting for his shift to be over so he could go train his chakra control. It was a bonus assignment of the summer vacation to work on their chakra control so they could learn the basic Clone jutsu. Though Naruto already knew the Shadow Clone jutsu, he still needed to work on his control to not summon so many clones. He had a problem with it since his reserves were so large that jutsu that required very little chakra were basically impossible much like the Clone jutsu. Yet that didn't deter him from trying to balance it out, if anything he didn't want to waste chakra, because wasted chakra was almost a one way ticket to death.

*Ching!* "Welcome to Yamanaka Flower Shop how may I help you?" Naruto asked with a smile, oh one thing should be mentioned Naruto was disguised by a minor genjutsu making his hair brown and his whisker marks hidden so that way villagers weren't deterred from shopping at the shop. Normally Yami or Inoichi wouldn't want their business, but this was one of their main sources of income so they had to do this.

"Ah yes can I get a bouquet of roses?" A male villager asked looking around the display flowers

"Of course how many? We have some already made from five, seven, and of course the standard twelve." Naruto said with a smile _"God, I don't know how Yami or Ino put's up with this fake smile and attitude all day."_

"I'll take the one with seven, thank you." The villager said after a moment of thought, and so Naruto rang up his order, and sent the man on his way.

After he left, Naruto let out a sigh and looked up at the clock "Ahh closing time, finally." Naruto jumped off his seat, and switched the sign around from 'OPEN' to 'CLOSED'.

Yami came out of the green house with a smile "Good work today Naruto-kun, you're definitely getting better."

"Thank you, but I still don't see how you do it day in and day out." Naruto stretched, and let the genjutsu fall off him "Well I'm going home, and do some practicing. Tell Ino when she gets back that she's more than welcome to come over and work with me."

Yami nodded with her ever present smile "Of course Naruto-kun, I'll see you tomorrow."

Naruto nodded and began walking out the door "See you then!"

Naruto walked over to his house and waved to the few walking through the street with a smile, and entered his home. It was homier than when he first started out all those months ago. Now there were pictures around with him and Ino's family, and even a few with just him, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji. Though his personal favorite is the one with just him and Ino where they had their arms around each other's shoulders giving the 'peace' sign with their biggest grins. These were open for display on a table by the entrance of his house. The rest of the house had his own little touches here and there. There were even touches of Ino since she had insisted that he have flowers. Naruto always did his best in taking care of the flowers.

 _"_ _So Kurama what's your take on the chakra control exercises?"_ Naruto questioned as he sat on his back porch looking around his yard.

 **"** **I'll have you tree running by the end of the summer vacation brat."** Kurama chuckled from within his mind **"Go find some small pebbles. Normally leaves would be sufficient, but due to your large reserves we'll start with something a little heavier and work our way down."**

Naruto did a mental salute and set off on his task of collecting his required 'equipment'. It didn't take him very long to find a decent amount, and so sitting cross legged on his porch he awaited further instruction.

 **"** **Alright brat, much like the leaf exercise concentrate chakra into your palm and keep pebble level."** Kurama instructed, and Naruto set off on his task

The first couple of times the pebble in his hand literally shot off into the sky. To say the least Kurama was humored to the point he couldn't breathe. So after having to take deep calming breaths, he resumed and tried to feel the chakra flow through his hand. Focusing on his palm he felt a slight trickling feeling flowing to his hand, and he kept it that way. The pebble began hover right above his palm much like the leaf was supposed to. When Naruto saw this he was excited, but didn't dare break his concentration.

 **"** **Just like that."** Kurama stated, seeing Naruto's progress **"Hold it there for as long as you can. The goal here is to be able to do it sub-consciously. To do it without thought."**

Naruto merely nodded and concentrated at the task at hand. Despite trying to keep the same flow, it was continuously fluctuating making it exceedingly hard to keep the same level going through. He didn't know how he was supposed to put any less chakra through if he was putting what he believed to be the minimum amount he could output. This didn't deter him though, and so for the rest of the evening he focused on this single task. He didn't even hear Ino knocking on his door.

 _"_ _I think I'm getting the hang of this… I actually think I can use less… let's try"_ that was his thought process before *Smack* "Gah!" Naruto fell onto his back, cradling the top of his head in his hands, and looked to his side to find a peeved looking Ino clenching her hand into a fist "Why did you do that Ino?!"

Ino pouted at him "I was waiting at your door for ten minutes! You wouldn't answer the door."

Naruto grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head, moving sitting up "Sorry about that, hehe. I was really into my Chakra Control practice."

Ino looked around and saw the pebbles on the porch "The teacher said we're supposed to be using leaves, not pebbles baka."

Naruto nodded "They did, but I have a bigger pool of chakra. So I have to start off with something a bit heavier." Naruto shrugged "I plan on working my way down to leaves…. hopefully." He grinned, and stretched out his arms

Ino watched as he stretched "Have you done your exercises this evening?"

Naruto sat stock still, and then groaned "Aw man… well no time like the present. Care to join me?"

Ino shook her head "Not this evening, I already took my shower thank you. Maybe tomorrow since it's the weekend."

Naruto nodded, and then examined Ino more closely her eyes were slightly red. Naruto's brow furrowed in concern "Are you alright Ino?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Ino put on a smile, but Naruto knew it was fake.

He used to see it in a broken mirror every morning "You know you can tell me anything right? I won't force it out of you." Naruto looked down at his hands "Sometimes it's better to tell than it is to hold it in."

After a few moments of silence Naruto thought he made his best friend angry, but shortly after that thought he felt Ino's back press against his as they sat on his porch. They leaned against each other listening to the silence until Ino began her story. She had gotten into an argument with Sakura. Normally this wouldn't have been a big deal, but this one wasn't like the others. It got heated because they were saying they would be the one to get their precious 'Sasuke-kun'. It went to the point where Sakura said something she shouldn't have. She didn't want to be Ino's friend anymore, she would fight her to the end for his heart. That was putting it nicely. Now this may seem like a petty argument, but for kids their age it was a pretty big deal especially since they were friends before she even met Naruto.

As Naruto listened he couldn't help, but feel angry at two people. Yet it wouldn't do any good to take any action against them. So instead he reached with his hand and grabbed Ino's and held it in silence. Ino had shed a few more tears from recalling the memories, but she didn't feel anywhere near as bad in Naruto's presence. It felt comforting, and just knowing that he was there was enough for her.

After a few more moments in silence Ino finally spoke "Thank you Naruto." She used her free hand to wipe some of the tears from her eyes. She let go of his hand, turned her waist and rested her head against his back "Don't ever leave me ok?"

Naruto was shocked, he had never seen Ino like this before, but he put on a small smile, and closed his eyes "Wouldn't dream of it." Smiling, Ino stood up and grabbed Naruto's head in her hands "What you doing Ino?" Naruto asked curiously, not being able to see behind him

She bent down and kissed the spot where she had hit Naruto, and in turn Naruto's face burned bright red, and steam could almost be seen coming from his ears earning a giggle from Ino "My way of apologizing." She ran to the back door, turning around giving a true grin and waved "See ya tomorrow Naruto-kun!" With that she ran through the door, through his house, and out the front door. Leaving a very confused, beet red Naruto on the back porch.

Kurama chuckled inside of his head **"As always you humans are ever amusing."**

 _"_ _Shuddup."_ Naruto mumbled in his mind.

. . .

Konoha Ninja Academy: 2 Years Later, end of Third Academic Year

"Come on Naruto you got this!"

"Sasuke-kun could never lose! You can do it Sasuke-kun!"

These were merely some of the cheers going on around the competitors circle on the school grounds. Right now it was the end of the year assessment testing to map out the progress of Academy students. Those who were present were some of the parents, two different Chunin examiners, and the Hokage himself….. well at least a clone of himself.

Inside of the ring was the ever Brooding Queen Sasuke Uchiha with a determined smirk on his face, and of course the Prank King Naruto Uzumaki with an equally determined smirk. All the previous spars were pretty standard for their ages, but this fight was the most anticipated. The class was equally divided on who would win this match. Of course each side had their few 'fan-girls' which Naruto would never understand why they would become Ninja if they weren't going to do anything productive. If there was one thing he and Sasuke could agree on it was that, well besides to agree to disagree of course.

"It's a shame we can't use our respective fighting styles." Naruto stated as he stood at main pose for the Academy style taijutsu.

"Hn." Sasuke grunted "As if you could have your own style dobe. I don't even know why you bother fighting back, you're still going to lose."

Naruto rose an eyebrow "I never give up, I will fight till the end, as that is the way of the Shinobi." With that said the two rushed forward and began trading blows once more.

To the side the Hokage Clone had a small smile at Naruto's words, while the two Chunin wore small smirks of approval. The two knew Naruto would go far he kept that train of thought. As the fight continued on with the two never giving ground on the other. Despite everything Sasuke found a slight grin on his face. He was having fun with this fight, someone to push his limits. Naruto was having the same thoughts as the two continued to trade blows. Neither had actually landed a hit on the other as they moved in perfect synchronization. It was almost hypnotizing to the crowd around them. To the Chunin's eyes they could see that some areas could use some improvement, but that came with experience, and of course when their bodies began to fill out. Though of course the Academy style was not for everyone, but since this was required for the exam they had to nitpick on their reports.

As the minutes dragged and the two sparring began to breathe harder, the Hokage clone gave a nod to one of the Chunin examiner. He stepped forward, rose his arm, and called the match "I hereby call this match a draw."

The two immediately stepped back from one another and bowed respectfully while panting "I'll wipe the floor with you next time dobe." Sasuke stated locking eyes with Naruto

Naruto grinned back "Funny how you say that every time and it always ends the same way… in a draw." He turned and walked away, while Sasuke semi scowled at his back before turning around to brood his way back into the classroom the end of the year instructions.

Back inside in the school building the students chattered away excited for the end of the year. Some talking about the trips they would be going, others about their training schedules, and of course the usual gossiping from the girls.

"Your fight was exceptionally well done." The ever stoic Shino Aburame, complimented

"Thanks Shino." Naruto grinned "You're fight wasn't that bad either."

Shino nodded "Kiba-san was formidable opponent."

Kiba grumbled and rubbed his sore jaw, and his ever faithful Akamaru yipped from atop of his head "I hate Academy style, it's so rigid compared to my clans."

Naruto could only nod and agree "It's not my favorite, but next year they're allowing us to use our own."

"It's troublesome, having to relearn everyone's unique style." Shikamaru stated from his resting position on the table, while Choji merely nodded very content on his bag chips

"Is anything not troublesome for you Shikamaru?" Naruto asked rhetorically

He got an answer anyway "Cloud gazing is one."

"Right, how could I forget?" Naruto tapped his temple jokingly

They continued their conversation for another few minutes when the clone of the Hokage walked into the room, and silence followed. The clone eyed the room, and he gave a warm smile "You all have done exceptionally well this year. Everyone in this room shows great potential, and as of this point you have passed the half way point. The next three years will be more intensive in your training, and of course when most of you begin your paths of your families or clans."

"You all contain the Will of Fire, that has been passed down from generation to generation. You are our future of the village. I look forward to what you have to offer for our village. So now I bid you good luck and I will see you all in three years' time for your graduation exams." With that, the clone dispersed with a puff of smoke

The instructor of their first three years said farewell and bid them good luck into the future. Students began to file out of the school building dividing off into groups or meeting up with their parents. Most of the students who were in clans collected their students this was no exception to most of Naruto's friends. Though Naruto didn't mind at all, he wouldn't hinder his friend's progress because he would be alone. In a way it made it easier for him to train his own way with his Shadow Clones and clan techniques. So at the current moment it was just him walking home with the occasional glare thrown at him or, the smile and wave the closer he got to Yamanaka compound.

Though he strayed a bit from his original pathway in search of Ninja supply store. He needed some Chakra paper. Naruto knew that he was young to begin dabbling in Chakra Natures, but one of the clan jutsu's required Wind Chakra and Water Chakra. There was a reason that their crest was a 'Whirlpool' after all. The only difference was that the jutsu wasn't bloodline based, if you had the appropriate Chakra Natures you could learn the technique. So thus his mission to find Chakra paper.

He came to the one supply store that he knew would supply him, and that was Himiware's Ninjaware. He walked in with a smile, and was greeted by a mountain of a man, and his name was Wan "Welcome! Oh it's you Naruto!" His voice boomed with a hearty laugh. The man before Naruto was well muscled and tanned. No hair on his head, but had a bushy beard, warm eyes. He wore a white t-shirt with a blacksmithing apron, and wore fire-retardant black pants and tan yellow work boots. "What can I do for you? You don't need another fitting do you?"

Naruto shook his head "No, I'm here to get some Chakra paper. Would you happen to have some on you?"

Wan gave Naruto a grin "We just got a fresh shipment, can I ask what for?"

"Just thought it would be neat to know, ya know?" Naruto grinned "Help me plan out my training."

Wan gave off a laugh "An excellent reason my boy. I only have one request."

"Of course, Wan-san." Naruto replied respectfully

Wan grinned "Let me see what you get."

"That seems fair to me." Naruto nodded "So how much for one?"

"It's on the house since you're a dedicated customer." Wan replied with a smirk, and pulled a piece of Chakra paper from behind the counter "Now I'm sure you know how to use it, but I'll tell ya anyway. Just channel your chakra into the paper, and the effect should vary depending on your Chakra Nature. Split in half is Wind, Soaked is Water, Crinkling is Lightning, Turned to Ash is Fire, and finally Crumbing to Dust is Earth."

Naruto nodded, and took the paper in his hand. After a minute of just purely studying said paper he finally channeled his Chakra. A wave of excitement washed over Naruto, the paper spilt in half meaning he had the Wind Nature, but both pieces of the paper also became soaked with water. He had both of the Natures he wanted and they were even stronger than he could have wanted.

"Well that's not something you see every day." Wan commented looking at the remains of the Chakra paper.

Naruto looked up with a curious look "Why's that?" he had a general idea, but didn't hurt to get actual information

"Well this is the Land of Fire for a reason." Wan continued on to explain "Most of our Ninja here have affinities for Fire, and then the occasional Lightning. Suna is the place where most Wind Natured ninja are affiliated and then there's Kiri where Water Nature ninja are. Both of your Chakra natures combat our common ones." Wan contemplated for a moment "Though there are the occasional Water Nature ninja here, but Wind is by far the hardest. The only one that I know of would be The Hokage's own son Asuma, and he's currently guarding the Daimyo."

Naruto merely shrugged "Well it's not like I need to train with them right away I just wanted to know, I got nothing, but time right now." It wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the whole truth either

Wan nodded "Well I'm glad I got to see something interesting." He let out a boisterous laugh "Well I'm sure you got things to do so run along. Let me know if you need a fitting or even new set."

"Will do Wan-san. See you later!" With a wave Naruto walked out the door already beginning to map out his training schedule this summer.

. . .

Naruto's Private Training Ground (A Week Later)

Naruto had stumbled upon this place when he was running away from ANBU from a prank he had pulled several years back. It was secluded and it wasn't a part of the traditional training grounds given to the new Genin teams, or current circulating teams. It was the perfect place to set his clones out to work without prying, and sometimes jealous, eyes.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto called out and around him a group of twenty five physical clones' awaited orders "Alright today is Jutsu day!" There was a cheer throughout the clones, and the extra clone stepped forward, and Naruto handed him the scroll to read through the jutsu portion. "The jutsu that we are attempting to learn for the next few weeks is **Vortex Palm**." Getting a collection of nods he continued "This is a stepping stone to **Spout Devastation**. So we have to get this one down before we go any further." The clone reading the scroll handed it back and popped, and all the clones knew what to do, and went off to at least attempt to work through it.

 **"** **I want you to work on trying to summon your Chakra Chains."** Kurama interjected into his thought process. **"You need to learn that on your own, and not use clones to learn it. Jutsu is one thing, but to your mother that was special, a rite of passage among Uzumaki."**

Naruto nodded, and gave a small smile "Who am I to disagree?"

Opening up his treasured Clan Scroll, he began reading over the process of wielding and creating his Chakra Chains. He thought it was still too soon to learn, but it wouldn't deter him from trying. As he read it over for what seemed to be the thousandth time, it told him it may help to actually feel an actual chain, felt how it moved in his hands, and know the weight of the chain. So that is exactly what he did. Pulling out a storage scroll, made by himself, and brought out the chain he had been working with his taijutsu style. He pooled in front of him and began pulling it up from the ground. Watching as it uncoiled, sway, and flex at different angles. He completely immersed himself into his single task before him. When he got like this there were only two people that could pull him out of it. Kurama, being in his mind after all, and of course his growing crush Ino.

His next goal was to envision the chain within his mind. He closed his eyes, and cleared his mind of all thoughts, and imagined a single chain link, and then another, then another, and so on. Seeing the chain his mind he held out his hand palm jutted out forward, and began pushing chakra to his palm as the scroll instructed. Keeping focused on the image before him willed the Chakra to take its shape. When he opened his eyes and was welcomed with the sight of…nothing, absolutely nothing.

Naruto let out a sigh "Well I guess I just haven't reached that age yet."

Kurama nodded within his mind **"That is more than likely, your mother didn't achieve it until the age of fourteen, but I wanted to see if your father's blood would help it progress quicker."**

Naruto shrugged "Ehh for all I know I was doing it perfectly, but hey if you have to hit a certain age then so be it. Though the scroll said that it can be emotionally related whatever that means."

Kurama hummed thoughtfully for a moment **"That tends to be the case for most clan bloodlines, but I can't recall if your mother was under an emotional situation or if it was due to hitting a general age."**

"Well it's no big deal." Naruto stretched and looked up at the sky to see the sun setting in the distance "Wow time flies." Naruto mumbled

 **"** **It's a good thing that you train in secluded areas."** Kurama shook his head in his mindscape **"If this were combat you would be dead."**

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "Well this is why I'm an academy student, and not a fully fledged Ninja."

Kurama scoffed, and let Naruto be. Dispelling his clones, he processed their knowledge. Surprisingly enough they managed to get the fundamentals down, but they had to do repetitions on the hand signs to be able to produce what he wanted. He ran through a single set of hand seals pouring a bit more chakra into the jutsu. Jutting out his right palm forward, and bracing his left hand on his right forearm. He could feel the water spinning in hand, and felt a grin work its way onto his face. Twitching his wrist, he saw a torrent water surge from his hand spinning fiercely. It wasn't as powerful as it should have been, but it did peel the bark of the tree he was aiming for.

Now **Vortex Palm** can be used two different ways. It can be used mid-range like he had just accomplished unleashing a powerful force of water from his hand that swirls violently. Then there's the close-range capability. If the user gets up close and personal they can directly apply to the target it sends them off spinning harshly, but not before feeling as if they were smacked with a solid brick wall.

Balling his hand into a fist Naruto grinned "Yosh! I'm on my way!" Calling it a day, Naruto leapt into the tree's and made his way home.

. . .

Yamanaka Compound Training Grounds

Ino was laying on the ground panting, and sweaty. Her father had worked her into the ground "Daddy I can't take anymore….." She pouted. It wasn't far from the truth, she was low on Chakra, and she had been given a thorough workout today. At least for her body standards in this case.

Inoichi nodded "I suppose so, well we have all summer vacation." He looked down at his daughter and gave her a warm smile "Keep up the good work, and you'll be a powerful Kunoichi in no time."

Ino gave a small grin, and pulled herself off the ground. She walked alongside her father to their house. During the walk she wondered how Naruto handled it. He had been training years before she was, and it was really evident that he was by far the strongest in the class. Sure Sasuke was strong, and she knew he was forced to hold back due to being stuck with Academy Basics. Things were going to be interesting next school year, this much she knew. Though she was a bit worried about the taijutsu portion of her schooling. Her clan didn't really have a style of taijutsu. She figured she would be perfectly fine in the other categories, but taijutsu was definitely not her strong suit. Sure she wanted to look great for Sasuke-kun, and maybe someone else. Yet unlike Sakura, who was content in just looking her best for him, she knew looks wouldn't save you in a battle, well to an extent…. Yeah she went through Kunoichi seduction training… it was sickening to her.

"Daddy?" Ino spoke as they walked through the streets. Inoichi looked down, and rose an eyebrow "What should I do about taijutsu?"

This took him by surprise, but he could tell she was serious. "What brought this up?"

Ino continued to look forward "Well our clan doesn't have a taijutsu style, and the Academy style isn't really all that great. I don't want to be caught in a situation and have nothing to get out of it."

Inoichi felt a swell of pride inside, his daughter understood what most Kunoichi still lacked today "Well I'm glad you see it that way, I'll look into finding you a tutor for taijutsu. I encountered the same problem, but unfortunately my mentor has passed."

Ino beamed up at her father, embraced him a hug "Thank you Daddy!"

With a smile they continued walking on home, and by coincidence they ran into Naruto who looked slightly worn out, but nonetheless gave them a smile.

Ino felt a bit embarrassed being caught in such disgusting sight, but Naruto didn't seem to mind "Hey Naruto how goes your training?"

Naruto gave her a thumbs up "It's going pretty well, and I see you were working hard. Awesome!"

Ino smiled a bit, and decided it wouldn't hurt a bit to ask "Hey Naruto-kun?" Naruto looked at expectantly, giving his undivided attention "Do you think you could teach me some taijutsu?"

Both Inoichi and Naruto had looks of surprise on their faces. Naruto's was because of the fact she was willing and looking for ways to improve her taijutsu. Inoichi's was because well….. she is his little girl. Though in all honesty he couldn't think of a better teacher than your peers. He'd actually seen Naruto's taijutsu in semi-action before, and he couldn't help, but think it may very well fit Ino's flexibility.

Naruto shook off the surprise, and rubbed the back of his neck "Well the thing is I only know two styles. The Academy style, and well… _Linked Motion_." Naruto knew he had to tred carefully with this conversation. Yeah he liked Ino a lot, and has known for a few years, he didn't know how she would take knowing what he contained.

Ino cocked her head to the side " _Linked Motion_? I don't remember that being a style in our studies."

"Well it's kind of died off, and it was mainly used by the Uzumaki clan. I found it in a couple books in the library on an off chance trying to learn about my family." Now that wasn't a lie, he did go to the library to touch up on his family "I thought since it was my families style I thought I would learn it. Though I don't know how proficient I am in it."

Ino nodded, the answer was pretty sound "Would it be alright if I tried to learn it?"

Naruto hesitated, he wanted to help his friend, but not sure if handing out his family's style was wise _"What do you think Kurama? I know you were listening in."_

Indeed Kurama was, but what Naruto couldn't see was a knowing grin on his face. Kurama was not a matchmaker, but when you've been imprisoned in two women, especially Uzumaki women, you tend to pick up on things **"I don't see why not. It shouldn't hurt your training schedule either in fact it would be good practice for you anyways."**

 _"_ _If you say so."_ Naruto commented back, and looked back at Ino who was waiting expectantly "Well I guess it wouldn't be a problem, but be warned it's not easy by any means easy, and it relies on flexibility and your other senses."

"Hai! Naruto-sensei!" Ino gave a mock salute, and smile

Naruto chuckled and held a hand to his chin "Hmm Naruto-sensei, I like the ring to it."

"Don't get used to it." Ino stuck out her tongue at him, and he replied in kind "So what times will you be able to train me?"

"I was thinking the morning before you start your regular training, as well as my own. Good way to get blood moving don't ya think?" Naruto grinned "Besides I believe for the first few weeks we'll be working on the motions with this one."

Ino's brow furrowed, which Naruto found quite adorable "Just on the motions? Don't you think that's a bit much?"

Inoichi chuckled bringing himself back into the conversation "Oh believe me princess, he knows what he's talking about. I've seen it in action, you'll want all that practice."

Ino rose an eyebrow, but shrugged "Ok, well I trust you. So tomorrow morning then?"

Naruto nodded "You got it!" He stretched and let out a content sigh "Well I'm gonna wash up and look over the other end year practice assignments. Something about learning how to Henge and such."

Ino nodded "I'll be doing the same, see you later Naruto-kun!" and she walked into her house

Naruto waved and looked up at Inoichi who was giving him a hard look "Uh Ponytail?" Naruto felt uncomfortable underneath his gaze

Inoichi rose an eyebrow "Hmm well I guess there's no harm, but if I find out you hurt her in the wrong ways." He cracked his knuckles to get his point across

Naruto nodded furiously "Understood Ponytail!" He saluted and bolted into his house

Inoichi chuckled and walked inside _"It would seem these next three years are going to be interesting indeed."_

. . .

Naruto's Private Traing Ground (Three Years Later)

 **"** **C'mon brat two more miles."** Kurama stated inside his mind

Right now we find ourselves watching Naruto doing his usual set of morning laps, but of course Kurama kicked it up a notch. Naruto was panting lightly as he continued on his jog slash run. Over the course of the three years his stamina and endurance had reached new heights. Most would consider his work load insane, but he knew two other Shinobi who were way worse with their training methods.

 _"_ _I know, I know."_ Naruto grumbled inwardly _"What wouldn't I give for different shirt though."_

Much to Naruto's discomfort, his long sleeve black shirt was soaked with his sweat, but that only meant he had worked himself rather well. A few minutes later he finished his last two miles, and did some mild pacing to keep his muscles from cramping, and for his breathing to calm down. Looking up at the sky he found he had about two hours before he had to go to the Academy. It was Final Examination Day, and most importantly it was the day he knew he would graduate. Yet there was still one last thing he had to do before all of that, since it would be the last time he would be able to do it. So with a mischievous grin he took flight into the trees.

. . .

Yamanaka Household

Ino walked out of her house with her hair tied up, and a arcing over her eye. She was dressed in her brand new Ninja armor. She was practically guaranteed to graduate near the top of their class. So her father took her out to buy her new Ninja gear as a graduation present. It consisted of high collar sleeveless top, with light purple arm sleeves. Underneath she wore a typical mesh shirt which was covered with bandage wrapping all the way down her waist. Starting at her waist she wore a purple waist cloth, with black shorts underneath. Which then had more bandage wrappings around her thighs. On her right leg was her brand new Kunai pouch, and a standard issue waist pouch around her waist. Even though dressed as a Ninja she knew she wouldn't have a problem turning a few heads. She hoped Sasuke would actually take notice of her, and maybe so would a certain blonde. Of course that thought just reminded her how far she was behind him, and that for whatever reason the school deemed someone else to be the higher Kunoichi.

The only reason she wouldn't be top Kunoichi is because of Sakura being a total nerd and had near perfect Chakra control. It really peeved Ino that she still couldn't get her Chakra control that good, and of course the fact that she wasn't book smart enough like Sakura made her angry, but she didn't let it bother her. She knew that book smarts weren't enough to keep you alive. So with that in mind she walked over to Naruto's house, and knocked on the door.

Hearing a muffled "Come in!" She turned the nob, and walked in

She looked around, but couldn't find Naruto anywhere "Naruto-kun where are you?"

"In the restroom be out in a minute, make yourself comfortable." Naruto called out.

Ino walked in, but before she continued she turned to look at the pictures on Naruto's entrance table and smiled. It showed all the good times that they shared, and also some class photos. There was one from their summer trip last year as a class. Everyone was in their swimsuits smiling at the camera. Though like a tradition, when it started she didn't know, but there were multiple photos of every year at the end of a school year they had their arms around each other's shoulders, and giving the peace sign with their biggest smiles. Tearing her eyes from the photos she made her way into his kitchen and sat down at the island eyeing the clock. They had time to kill, but if they weren't careful they would be late, and she would prefer to leave that Shikamaru.

"Whew sorry about that, worked up a sweat this morning." Naruto stated coming around the corner into the kitchen

Ino turned her head around to reply when the words stopped in her throat. Her eyes slightly widened in surprise. Naruto's attire had changed. Instead of the white hooded jacket he used to wear, he was now pure black body fitted jacket with no hood. His grey cargo shorts were now replaced with white cargo shorts, with black stripes down the sides. He had his waist pouch attached behind him, and his Kunai pouch on his right leg. Around his calves were black bandage wrappings, and flowed into black ninja sandals. All in all, in her words and eyes, he looked rather dashing.

"Ino-chan?" Naruto looked at her expression with a risen eyebrow, and waved his hand to catch her attention "You ok?" Naruto examined her attire and found that she really good "You look like one hell of a Kunoichi, Ino-chan."

"Huh?" Ino quickly shook her head, and sported a small blush "Really?" she stood up and did a small spin "Daddy bought it for me, as a graduation present."

Naruto smiled "Yeah it looks great on you." He looked over at the clock, and felt a different kind of smile tug on his lips "Well let's get going, wouldn't want to be late now would we?"

With that they walked out the door onto their last day as Academy students. As they walked through the streets they received several smiles, and waves. Even when they left the Yamanaka compound they were greeted with smiles and waves. Though there were the occasional glare sent his way it was nowhere near as bad as it was when he was younger. It probably helped that his pranks didn't really affect any of them, but more of the people he knew who could take a joke, or the people who actually deserved it, even in the villager's point of view.

"So what do you think the last exam will contain?" Naruto asked as they walked

"I would think it would be a jutsu test. They've been pushing it a lot lately." Ino stated as they walked "Though I could see a taijutsu test, but I doubt it. Since those that do pass they don't want to wear us out before we go to our Jonin-sensei's."

Naruto nodded "I agree." He glanced sideways at her "So how goes your taijutsu training?"

Ino smiled over at Naruto "It's going pretty good. I finally was able to stop the chain from wrapping around me or hitting me." Naruto chuckled "It's not funny! If you would have told me, I would've been able to fix it right away."

"That was the whole point." Naruto stated as they got closer to the academy "It took me forever to figure out how not to get myself killed by my own chain. So I had to let you figure it out, besides I'm sure your fix is different from my own. So I don't know if my method would have helped you or not."

Ino merely huffed, puffing her cheeks "Leave it to you make yourself the good guy and make look like I'm looking for a way out of hard work."

Naruto laughed, and Ino joined in soon after. They walked into the Academy doors, and into their classroom. Surprisingly enough the majority of the class already here. So they took their seats towards the back of the classroom like they normally did. Ino decided to save her energy instead of contesting against Sakura or any other girl for the spot next to Sasuke. Sure she wouldn't mind sitting there, but in the end it was just a seat. Though what they forgot to mention was all the heads they were turning.

A lot of guys stared at Ino's figure, all the while the majority of girls looked Naruto figure. By no means had they truly matured yet, but it showed what they were going to have later on. Though the real kicker was that it even tore the eyes of Sasuke's fangirls away from him. Now Sasuke could care less about the girls, but it was merely the fact that Naruto was getting more than attention than he was. Though he didn't say anything it was the last day of the year, and he wasn't going to cause trouble.

"Yo Kiba you ready?" Naruto asked leaned against said person's desk

"Hell yeah!" Kiba thrust a fist in the air, and Akamaru barked "Been waiting for this all year."

Naruto chuckled and stuck out his fist "I'm with you on that one." They shared a fist and he turned his attention to Shino "How's the Hive Shino?"

Shino shifted his gaze over to Naruto and nodded in greeting "They are doing well Naurto-san. I wish you luck on the test."

Naruto grinned "Nothing to worry about."

Ino on the other hand was talking to Choji "Hey Choji you ready for today?"

"Of course *munch*. I'm making sure I pass. If I do my dad is taking me out for an all you can eat buffet tonight." Choji grinned, digging right back into his ever present bag of chips

Ino rolled her eyes "Of course that's your reasoning." Shaking her head she saw Shikamaru enter the room with his usual lazy pace "Hey Shikamaru you ready for today?"

Surprisingly there was a slight grin on his face "Yeah, I made sure I did enough to pass, and not be considered 'dead last' anyway. I'm just ready for this to be over with. It's such a drag." He took his usual seat, and laid his head to rest upon his arms. Typical Nara.

Before Ino could reply to her lazy friend, Iruka-sensei entered the room with his clipboard and called the class to attention. Yet when he entered there was the lack of Mizuki-sensei. He explained the final exam would be over the Clone jutsu, and a standard Henge. Then he glared Naruto who was smiling cheekily, while he explained that unfortunately Mizuki would not present for the exams due certain… circumstances that involved orange paint, feathers, and glue.

Now for some of the class this would be a walk in the park, but for those who came from civilian families, who decided not to practice Chakra control this was not going to end well for them.

Iruka one by one called students in for their exams. The students who passed or failed were sent in two different directions. The ones who passed were sent to another classroom where they would get their Jonin-sensei team assignments, while the ones who failed would leave the Academy and wait for the next school year or in most cases drop out. During this time Naruto waited patiently as his friends were called into the room.

Finally Iruka-sensei came out and called his name "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Alright!" Naruto grinned and followed Iruka into the room "Let me know when Iruka-sensei."

Iruka sat down behind his desk and looked up at Naruto with his strictly teacher face "Alright Naruto, three Clones." Naruto made the hand sign and three clones 'poofed' to life as he like to call it. Iruka nodded approvingly "Alright now dispel two, and do two different Henges. One on you and the other Clone." Naruto nodded, and did just that. Dispelling two of his Clones, he Henged his clone as the third Hokage, and then for Naruto he changed into the Yondaime. Iruka found it rather impressive that he could Henge into the forth since all Naruto could go off is photos. "Well done Naruto, I would like to say Congratulations, you graduate."

"Alright!" Naruto cheered, and the dispelled his clone and Henge. He walked over to where the metal plates with the Leaf Symbol. Picking up a black cloth he clasped the metal plate and tied it around his forehead "Now I'm one step closer!"

Iruka smiled at Naruto's enthusiasm "Ok Naruto you'll get your team assignment shortly. It would seem one of the Jonin-sensei's knew you would pass, along with some others. I look forward to what you can accomplish. Now get out of here, I got other students to grade."

Naruto grinned and bolted from the room. When he entered the room he found that were still a few civilian's that got through, but for the most part it was clan kids. Naruto went and joined up with his friends, all showing off their brand new head bands, or some cases arm bands, or even waist bands. This went on for a long while until that last few of the students came into the room. Finally after what seem like an eternity, and the slowly falling in the horizon Iruka came into the room with his clipboard in hand with a content smile on his face.

"Alright everyone, I have your team assignments right here. When I tell you your teams you are free to leave. You'll meet with you Jonin-sensei here in this classroom tomorrow, at noon." With that said Iruka focused his attention on the clip board, and began calling out team numbers. Naruto listened tentatively for his name or his friends name's "Team 7 will be Kiba Inuzaka, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha."

He felt sorry for Kiba for being stuck with Sasuke, and Sakura on Team 7, but not much you can do when your dead last of the class. They'll put you with you the two 'best'. Yeah Naruto was peeved that he didn't get the 'Rookie of the Year', but all in all it's just a title. The only reason, and the only reason, is because of the fact his affinity for genjutsu is non-existent.

"Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuga, Naruto Uzumaki, and Ino Yamanaka."

 **Hello again! So what do you think? I had some fun with this chapter, and before you guys mention it in the reviews yes I know there were a few big time skips. Well I wanted to get to Naruto's Ninja career, but I know that I had put some filler in the story on how he progressed, even then his progress is somewhat hidden. I'll be revealing more later on, it'll keep you guys on the edge hehe. I already have a special event to occur, and I'm sure you all enjoy it... for the most part *evil smile*.**

 **The Reviews**

 **bigfan22: I'm glad you like my writing style, and I hope that I can meet most expectations.**

 **Guest1: Well I don't know about sex slave... I mean I rated it M, but to be honest that stuff doesn't really intrigue me. Though there will be a bit of SasuSaku bashing, but nothing to extreme here.**

 **bankai777: Well I hope that last line answered your question hehe.**

 **sweetlilly90: Thanks for the compliments! I also agree with you Ino is NOT the sharing type, and so I decided there would be no Harem... but that doesn't mean their wont be a bit of flirting... hehe**

 **StrikeFreedomV2: I"m sorry about that in the first chapter. Now I normally go back through when I get the and fix my grammar mistakes, so just be patient with me on that front. Now for future reference it would be most appreciated if you would PM about grammar. Thank you!**

 **Alright now that's done, I'll bid you all adieu! Leave a like or follow if you enjoyed, PM me if you have a request or grammar issues with my story and til next time**

 **As Always Everyone please support the Official Release and Enjoy! Later Days!**


	3. Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

**Hello Everyone! It's OtakuWest here! I know it's been awhile and well I had bit of a writers block on this chapter considering there was a lot to cover. So some things may seem a bit rushed, but in all honesty it's best to get out of the way with the little group that he's got right now, and the things that go on with Hinata are the same way. I know it feels like Ino is taking a back seat on this one, but hey that's what future chapters are for. Oh! be sure to read the bottom A/N that contains review answers, and also an important announcement today, one that WILL alter the course of the story. So without further ado the story!**

 **As Always Everyone please support the Official Release and Enjoy!**

 **I own nothing from the Naruto Franchise!**

Chapter 3: Thnks Fr Th Mmrs

After the initial naming of the teams the students began milling out of the classroom to either practice a bit, bond with their new teammates or just go home and rest for tomorrow. So that is exactly what Team 8 did, they decided to bond.

As the three new Genin walked out of the building Naruto began shooting off ideas on where to settle down and talk "So you guys want to convene at Ichiraku's, or something like that?" Ino smacked her fist against his arm "Ow! What was that for?" Naruto grabbed his arm, and looked over at Ino

"Of course you would suggest Ichiraku's. It's the only restaurant you eat at, and contrary to your belief Naruto-kun not everyone loves Ramen like you do."

Naruto pouted slightly "I'm sorry ok. I haven't had Ramen in over two weeks, and besides it'stheonlyplacethatservesme." Naruto muttered the last bit, and Ino just rolled her eyes, and looked over at Hinata, who still was a little flushed and was just pushing her finger tips together

"Where do you want to go Hinata-san?" Ino asked politely, knowing full well she's a Hyuga and they have some form of standards.

"I-I'm w-with w-where ever y-you g-guys w-want t-to go." She stuttered out her sentence before adding on "Y-you c-can j-just c-call m-me H-hinata b-by t-the w-way."

Naruto rose an eyebrow, but decided not to comment on her stuttering "Well how about my place? I could make a meal or something."

Ino thought for a moment, and shrugged "I have no problems with it, do you Hinata?"

 _"_ _Going over to a boy's house?!"_ Hinata's face reddened considerably, before stuttering "I-I w-wouldn't w-want t-to b-be a b-burden."

Naruto waved it off "It's no burden, besides we're teammates now." After a few more paces Naruto turned around and smiled "So my place good?" He got two nods, albeit one extremely red "Alright then."

. . .

Uzumaki Household

"Welcome to my home Hinata." Naruto stated as they stood in front of his house, and opened the door and held it open for them to enter.

"Thanks Naruto-kun." Ino smiled and walked in knowing exactly where the kitchen was

"P-pardon t-the i-intrusion." Hinata stuttered and entered looking around

Naruto shut the door, and watched as Hinata looked around the house with a mild curiosity. When she laid eyes on the photos she walked up to them, and smiled, but Naruto also noticed the hints of sadness in her eyes.

After looking through the photos she realized there wasn't a single picture with his parents. In fact she realized that there were no adults even present in the household "W-where a-are y-your p-parents N-naruto-san?"

Naruto stiffened, but smiled "Well I don't have any. They died before I knew them, but I know who they are and that's enough for me." He turned to face her "Just so you know I don't want pity. At first it was hard I won't deny that, but right now I'm happy with what I got ya know?" He grinned, and scratched the back of his head "So in any case what kind of food do you like?"

Hinata looked down at her hands, a little guilty for asking a personal question, but still answered his question "I-I l-like r-red b-bean s-soup." She began pressing her fingers together in her nervous tick.

Naruto nodded "Well come on into the kitchen no need to stand out here right?"

Hinata nodded sheepishly and followed Naruto through his house to his kitchen. As they walked in Ino was already helping herself to some cherry tomatoes at the kitchen island, making herself feel at home. Hinata, timidly, took a seat at the left of Ino, and waited patiently waiting for her treat. Now, to Ino, it was no surprise that Naruto could cook, she knew he lived alone, and when he wasn't over at their house for a meal, he was making his own. She knew for a fact he wasn't bad if anything he could put several women, and men to shame with his cooking skills.

"So." Naruto started off the conversation, all the while preparing the food "I guess I'll start. I'm Naruto Uzumaki, age twelve, I love Ramen, and my team, I don't like how people treat others for something they can't control, and as I'm sure you all know I want to be Hokage someday."

Ino gave a small smile and introduced herself "I'm Ino Yamanaka, age twelve, I love a few things" she sported a slight blush "including this team and banana pudding, I dislike how people who bully others, and I want to have a family one day." When she finished she looked over at Hinata, and Naruto glanced over his shoulder as well

Hinata gave a little 'eep', before looking down and began, surprising with no stutter "I'm Hinata Hyuga, age twelve, I love cinnamon rolls, my new team, I dislike the Caged Bird Seal, and one day I wish to reunite the Hyuga clan."

Naruto nodded with a smile "Good to hear then. I know it was kind of cheesy, because we're probably going to do it again tomorrow, but it was just to break the ice." After a few more minutes Naruto finished the soup and set it front of Hinata "Eat up!"

"T-thanks f-for the f-food." She bowed her head slightly and began eating. Her eyes widened when she took a bite "T-this i-is really g-good N-naruto-san!"

Naruto grinned "Thank you!" He rubbed the back of his head sheepishly "You know you can just call me Naruto, I'm not all that for honorifics to be honest."

"H-hai N-naruto." Hinata managed, before feeling her face heat up

Finally Naruto couldn't take it anymore "I don't want to sound rude Hinata, but I don't think I've seen a Hyuga _this_ shy before." Ino nodded in agreement

Hinata turned a deeper shade of red "I-I'm s-sorry. T-this i-is a-all n-new to m-me." She started pressing her fingers together, and had a sad look on her face "I-it's why I-I'm n-not particularly l-liked by my c-clan. Even though I-I'm the c-clan Heiress."

Naruto scoffed "That's a load of bull if you ask me." Hinata's head jerked up instantly and looked at Naruto "Just because you're shy you shouldn't be disliked." Naruto began scratching his head "Then again I'm not all that into Clan Politics, and even from what I've seen of the Yamanaka Clan there shouldn't be any real reason to not like someone for being shy." Naruto looked to Hinata for an answer

Hinata looked down at her hands "It's b-because our c-clan is n-not supposed to s-how emotion. W-we are to r-remain stoic. T-the exact o-opposite of m-me."

"Be your own person Hinata." Naruto stated, looking down at the table "You have the power to be who you want to be. No one can change that." Naruto put on a thoughtful look "As a matter of fact I remember another Hyuga, I think his name is Neji?" Naruto shrugged "He's in the Branch Family if I remember correctly, and from what I've observed he's quite stronger than most Branch and the majority of the Main Branch at his age. If he can do that against the so called 'odds' then why can't you?" Naruto looked at Hinata with a smile "I just want you to know you got me on your side."

Ino nodded "He's right you know? You got me by your side too. Us girls got to stick together right?"

Tears began to well up around her pale Lavender eyes, before nodding in determination "I-I'll try my b-best." She gripped her hands into fists. She was going to save her sister from her damnable fate of being sealed, and mean while saving herself from that fate as well.

Both Ino and Naruto grinned "Now that's what I like to hear." Naruto grabbed her bowl and refilled it. He set it back down, and his face adorned a sad smile "Now that we got out of the way, I think… there's something I ought to share with you all."

Ino looked surprised, Naruto rarely ever put that smile on. It was only when to stop her, Shikamaru or another one his friends from getting angry at the villagers who glared at him. Though for what she still had no idea, and yet the way things were going…. It looked like they would get the answer to it.

"Since I basically made Hinata voice her demons, I think it would only be fair if did mine as well." Naruto stated, before chuckling a bit

 **"Laugh it up brat."** Kurama huffed, at the literal, but still a joke nonetheless.

Naruto looked at both Ino, and Hinata who both had curious looks on their faces laced with traces of concern "I'm telling you all this because I'm sure you need to know this, and well it may very well change your opinion about me." He looked at Hinata "I'm not sure how you see me Hinata, but I'm sure you've heard, or at least been told, to stay away from me for no apparent reason. So I don't know really know how you really see me, but you're my teammate and I'm trusting you with my life as your life with me."

"C'mon on Naruto-kun it can't be that bad can it?" Ino asked, raising an eyebrow resting her head on her hands looking at Naruto. Hinata merely waited patiently but she was having similar sentiments.

Hinata had heard the rumors of most parents telling their children to stay away from Nartuo. Her father didn't place any restrictions upon her, and the council had no say in who she talked too, for the most part. This was because Naruto had helped her get away from bullies when she was younger. Hiashi, her father said any man that is willing to protect others, especially his own daughter, is more than welcome. Hinata had looked up to Naruto for years after that little incident. She had seen how he acted in his earlier years at the Academy and no matter how much he was criticized or beaten down, he would always stand right back up. That much didn't change, especially when suddenly he came back to school with a different attitude towards his studies. Then there was the drastic change in his fighting, and his learning curve. It was well known that Sasuke became 'Rookie of the Year' because of his superiority in Genjutsu.

Most would say she would have crush on him, considering how she's always looking at him, but in truth she just looks up to him. He's something she wishes to be, and now to see him like this concerned her. She preferred the Naruto who was smiling, and had a look of mischief.

Naruto turned his head and faced Ino "Well I guess that depends on how you all will take it." Looking back down at his counter top he let out a sigh "I know for sure your parents, and most of the adults around here, know but because of the Hokage's law they are not to speak of it or risk death. So keep that in mind, once I tell you this, you will not be allowed to tell anyone else about my status." He received a collective nod from the two and he let out breath "So I'm sure you all know the 'story' of how the Yondaime Hokage defeated the mighty Kyuubi?"

 **"Bah! Preposterous."** Kurama huffed, and fixed his glasses on his face as he watched through Naruto's eyes

Naruto ignored him and continued "Well that wasn't necessarily true. You can't simply kill a Biju, they're pure beings of Chakra with thought. They would slowly reform over the course of three years, but that's beside the point. The Yondaime did something else entirely, but it still cost him his life. He sealed the Kyuubi into a newborn child." He looked up at Ino and Hinata "That child's birthday was October tenth, the exact same day of the Kyuubi's attack."

Ino's eyes widened, and checked her mental calendar "I-isn't that your birthday?"

Naruto gave a small smile, and nodded "Indeed it is."

Hinata gasped "Y-you w-were the n-newborn?"

Naruto nodded once more "Yes, inside of me I contain the mighty Kyuubi no Kitsune. My mother and father died protecting me in order to seal the Kyuubi inside of me." Naruto stood up and walked towards the door out of the kitchen "I'll be right back."

Both Ino and Hinata were shell shocked. The reason the villagers, and the few Shinobi, hated Naruto was because he contained the Kyuubi? It was completely ridiculous! Ino clenched her hands into fists. Even she knew the difference between the scroll containing the kunai. Hinata didn't understand how the villagers could do such things to Naruto, given he had no say in the matter. He wasn't even the one who caused the mess in the first place, and it wasn't his fault that he happened to be born on that day. Yet for both of them they couldn't fathom how the Yondaime could bestow such a burden, on a child no less. Something was missing from what Naruto told them.

After a few minutes Naruto walked back into the kitchen holding a picture frame and looking at it fondly "I can only guess the questions going through your mind right now, but I hope when I show you this picture it may clarify things more."

He set the picture in front of them, and turned it to face them. Both Ino and Hinata gasped in shock. In the picture they recognized right away the Yondaime Hokage smiling at the camera. Next to him was a woman that both of them looked up to as a Kunoichi. The Red Hot Habanero, was by far one the most powerful Kunoichi out there, and was rumored to even have the famed Yondaime, A.K.A The Yellow Flash, on his toes when the two would spar. Though what the two didn't get was why the Yondaime had his arms around her and….. that she was pregnant!

"Hold on!" Ino nearly shouted "Why is the Red Hot Habanero pregnant?!"

Naruto chuckled, and looked at Ino "What's her real name?"

Hinata furrowed her brow for a moment, and then her eyes widened "Kushina…. Uzumaki…"

Ino's eyes went widened "She's your mother." Naruto nodded with a small smile "But why is the Yondaime with her? From what I could remember he didn't have a family."

"Not to public knowledge no." Naruto stated and sat back down at the table "The Yondaime, or Minato Namikaze is my father. Just take away the whiskers from my face."

Ino couldn't believe she hadn't made the connection earlier. He was practically a spitting image of the Yondaime for crying out loud! Hinata was equally surprised by this fact, and what almost pale in comparison was that if the entirety village knew it was the late Yondaime's son they were basically torturing they may very well go up to him and beg for forgiveness. Though there was one thought in their minds that begged to be answered; Why didn't anyone know he was the Yondaime's son, and for that matter Kushina's son.

"Naruto-kun! You have to tell everyone about this!" Ino shouted at Naruto, but he just shook his head

"Why n-not? H-haven't you s-suffered enough?" Hinata lowered her head "I-if you c-can tell me to b-be my own p-person, t-then I c-can t-tell you to d-do this f-for yourself." She looked back up at Naruto with determination in her eyes.

Naruto smiled, and still shook his head "It's not that I don't want to ya know?" Both Ino and Hinata cocked their heads in confusion "Do you really think after everything I done, if I just go around saying I'm the Yondaime's son that they'll believe me?" Naruto chuckled "If anything they'll just get angry at me for 'disgracing' his name."

"But Naruto-kun." Ino started but Naruto cut her off

"I appreciate the concern you guys, and I'm more than thrilled that you both still don't care about the Kyuubi either." Naruto rubbed the back of his head "I didn't know how you both would take that truly. I was kind of scared of rejection, but I had to let you guys know. *SMACK* OW! What was that for?!" Naruto shouted rubbing the sore spot on top of his head, glaring at Ino

"That's for doubting us." Ino stated, shaking her hand "I mean common, you're just a jailer. That's like saying my father that was the head of T&I should be responsible for all the crimes of the people he interrogated and kept behind bars."

Hinata nodded fervently "I-Ino's r-right. But that s-shouldn't have a-anything to d-do with telling t-the villagers w-who your p-parents are."

Naruto let out a sigh "The reason I won't be telling them isn't because it's not my choice." Both Ino and Hinata wore looks of confusion, so Naruto clarified "As of right now I'm not strong enough to defend myself. According to the Hokage, I will be able to claim my inheritance once he deems that I can protect myself or the Yondaime's will of me obtaining the rank of Chunin. After that it will be publically announced that I am indeed their son."

"But why not now?" Ino asked

"Because of the Iwa nation." Naruto stated "They have an immense hatred of the Yondaime for devastating their forces. If they were to find out he had any offspring, they would waste time in trying to kill me off just to spite an already dead man."

Ino pursed her lips. Much to her disappointment it was a reasonable condition, and as much as she would love to see those villagers beg for forgiveness, she'd rather have Naruto safe. As much as you can get as a Ninja anyway. Hinata found it to be quite reasonable, but she just didn't want Naruto suffer any more than he had too. He didn't realize how much he helped her find what little confidence she had throughout their time at the Academy. Even with his change of attitude, he was stood up to others for what he believed in.

"Besides…" Naruto started gathering the attention to him once more "I don't want pity from the villagers. I want them to come to terms with me, or respect because of me and not because I'm Yondaime's son." He looked at both of them with a smile "It's enough having my friends like you guys know, and still don't care either way." Clapping his hands together making both of the girls jump in their chairs "Alright now that's out of the way we can move on to a more pleasant topic… Training!"

Ino groaned, and Hinata nodded with a small smile "T-that s-sounds good N-naruto."

Ino was feverously shaking her head "N-no it's not! He's a slave driver!"

Naruto feigned being stabbed in the heart "I'm hurt Ino-chan. I've never done anything of the sort!"

"Liar!" Ino shouted at a chuckling Naruto

Naruto held up his hands in a disarming manner "I didn't mean full on training either. I was just thinking a little bit of sparring to see our strengths. After all, if we're a team then we have to know our strengths and weaknesses."

Ino huffed and crossed her arms "Fine, I wanted to ask for your advice on my taijutsu anyway." Naruto nodded with a smile. Ino looked over at Hinata "So, Hinata, you use your families Gentle Fist taijutsu right?"

"H-hai." Hinata nodded "Why do you ask?"

"What Ino-chan, is probably going to say is, just use the taijutsu portion of it when you're fighting." Naruto intervened "We both know that your style is meant to close chakra points, but it still packs a hit. So in during the spar don't force chakra into our systems." Hinata nodded in understanding "but by no means hold back ok? Since this partially training, if you hold back we won't be getting any better. It could also be a bit insulting if you do. It's the only way we'll figure out if where we stand in our own style, and that's including yours." He got another nod, but it was a little on the hesitant side. "Alright! Let's get going!"

Naruto's Private Training Ground

"Whoa!" Ino exclaimed, as she looked around the clearing, and the various training gear around the field "So this is where you disappeared to all the time during the summer and the school year."

Naruto chuckled "Yeap, I fell upon this place on accident, and well I took into my own hands. It's actually my own private property, I talked with Hokage-jisan and he let me buy it. By far one of my better investments."

Hinata herself was looking around in appreciation of the place "It's a-almost as i-if I'm in m-my clan's c-compound." Yet she didn't feel tense as she would be. Not surprising since she was always spied upon in the compound. The only safe havens were her room and the bathrooms.

"Well I suppose that's a good thing then." Naruto chuckled "Because you two are more than welcome to use this training ground as you see fit."

Ino looked over at Naruto with a surprised look "Really? Are you sure? I mean this is your private property and all."

Naruto waved it off and shrugged "It's fine, but to be safe make sure no one's following you when you do decide to train here. I'd really like this to be kept off the maps for now." Hinata and Ino both nodded "Thank you. So let's get this sparring under way shall we?"

. . .

After about thirty minutes both Hinata and Ino were both panting and nursing their bruises that they had received during their sparring. Naruto was nursing a few bruises himself, but he was nowhere near tired.

Ino glared at Naruto with envy "How are you not tired Naruto-kun? We fought all out in those spars."

Naruto looked at Ino, and then over to Hinata who was looking to him for an answer as well. He merely shrugged "The Kyuubi has a set workout schedule for me, so I have quite the stamina reservoir. If you two want I can work out a stamina training schedule for you both." He received two very enthused nods from both the girls, and he grinned "It'll have to wait though, since I was really paying attention to your stamina more of your moves. I need to put you through a series of tests in order for it to work."

"Every little bit helps." Ino stated with a minor shrug, after a moment Ino held up her standard chain in her hands "Hey Naruto, I was just wondering could you look at my chain?"

Naruto raised an eyebrow and walked over to Ino and plopped down next to her "What's wrong with it?"

"Something just feels off lately." Ino stated and watched as Naruto inspected it with a serious look.

"How so?" Naruto questioned as he moved the chain through his hands. Examining for anything that could set it off

"Like it's acting too quickly." Ino suggested "That's what it feels like."

Naruto was silent for the next few moments examining the chain further. During those few moments Ino stared at his face, and admired the serious expression on his face. She had seen this look multiple times before, and she respected it….. besides finding it really cute from time to time. Naruto never demeaned her by any means, or any other kunoichi for that matter. If anything he expected the exact same thing from you. So when he trained her for the last three years in his clan's taijutsu, he wore that look that said you would get no lenience from him.

"Well there's nothing wrong with the chain." Naruto stated after a while

Ino hung her head "So it's something I'm doing wrong."

"No not at all." Naruto shook his head and Ino's head snapped up in surprise "The chain is merely too light for you." Naruto reached into his bag and pulled out a blank scroll, an ink well, and a writing brush. "But I can fix that no problem."

Hinata's curiosity peaked "Y-you know fuinjutsu N-Naruto?"

Naruto nodded a little sheepishly "I'm just a Novice Sealer. I don't know why, but I find fuinjutsu extremely interesting and it's very useful if you know how to use it."

"So what are you going to do my chain Naruto-kun?" Ino asked, her own curiosity peaked "Wouldn't it be easier to get heavier chain?"

Naruto nodded "It can be yes, but the higher the thicker the chain links. I know you're used to this chain width and length. So if I can adjust its weight through a simple Weight Seal, why bother? Besides good practice for me, and it saves you money."

Ino nodded in appreciation "Thanks Naruto-kun. Chains are expensive anyway."

Naruto set out to work. After a few minutes of him setting out the outline of the seal, he brought out a few reference materials to base his work off from. All the while Ino and Hinata sat side by side as they watched him make seemingly pointless strokes of the ink brush here and there on the scroll. As he continued working, Naruto stopped for a moment, and his brow scrunched in confusion. Then his eyes widened and a grin placed itself on his face, and he went on with his work placing new markings in his outline.

"I know fuinjutsu is one of the most complicated routes to take, but it seems like a bunch of random kanji markings." Ino said to Hinata

"It's t-that r-reason that m-most n-ninja don't u-use it." Hinata stated, and continued watching Naruto "I-it's amazing h-how m-much Naruto has c-hanged."

Ino nodded "When I first met him, he was a bit of idiot, but he stood up for what he believed in and for others as well." Ino smiled remembering events back at the Academy.

"There!" Naruto stated finishing the seal on the scroll "Now pool the chain in the center." Naruto muttered to himself. Raising his hand into the Ram Seal "Seal!" In a puff of smoke the complex markings on the seal were gone, and what was left was Ino's Chain with an occasional black link "Perfect." Naruto grinned and handed it to Ino "Here try it out."

Ino grabbed her coiled chain and let it fall to the ground and went into the Linked Motion taijutsu stance. "Well here it goes." She started rotating her body her chain following soon after.

Her body flowed with ease, switching from leg to leg. Seemingly at random intervals she would flip at ease, but to the eye it looked delayed. That was the beauty of Linked Motion. It played tricks on the eyes with the chain as the main distraction. It formed a spherical shape around Ino, and in such played with the eyesight of the enemy. Though it all wasn't for show either. In a sense it was a perfect defense much like the Gentle Fist style. If the chains were enhanced with Chakra then it could deflect some powerful jutsu. When she finally came to a stop she continued to move her chain arm so it could coil nicely at her feet.

Ino though was sporting a frown "It still feels the same Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded "Ok, good it didn't activate prematurely." Ino looked at Naruto in surprise "Ok Ino-chan, what I need you to do is channel chakra into the chain while using the Ram Seal. When you feel your chakra push back even the slightest stop the flow."

Ino nodded, and did as she was instructed. Positioning her hands into the Ram Seal, she let the chakra flow until she felt resistance. When she finished, she found the chain was slightly heavier, but not to over the top "It feels heavier now, how is that possible?"

Naruto grinned "It's an improvised version of the Weight Seal. I took some concepts from the Resistance Seal. Instead of using an estimates for the traditional Weight Seal, I gave it levels in which it can gradually increase or decrease depending on the situation." He got a nod from both Hinata and Ino who were barely able to follow what he was saying "The only other thing that I did was apply a Reinforcement Seal so that way it won't break easily."

Ino was wide eyed, and Hinata was surprised "All that from a single seal?!" Ino practically shouted "It almost makes me want to learn some." Hinata nodded in agreement

Naruto grinned "I don't mind 'attempting' to teach you, but remember I'm still learning too."

Ino shook her head "Thanks for the offer, but I know my limitations."

"I-I also a-appreciate the offer, b-but I respectfully decline." Hinata bowed her head in respect

"It's alright, Fuinjutsu isn't for everyone." Naruto grinned "But at least let me show you how to make Storage Seals. That's almost a necessity."

Hinata and Ino looked at one another and shrugged "That's fair."

Naruto raised an eyebrow "Not that wasn't cool or anything, but in some ways it was very disturbing." With this statement he received a couple of giggles from the girls _"Why do I get the feeling I just gave Ino-chan a new weapon against me?"_ Naruto shivered a little at thought, but shook his head "Well I suppose that's it, but Hinata if you wouldn't mind could I talk to you for a moment?"

"H-Hai." Hinata replied, Ino raised an eyebrow, but shrugged and went home wanting to take a well-deserved shower. Hinata looked at Naruto who was packing his stuff away. "What did y-you want to t-talk to me about N-Naruto?"

Naruto stood up brushing off his pants, and looked over at Hinata "Nothing to major really, it's about your Taijutsu style is all." Hinata stiffened, and Naruto held up his hands in a placating manner "It isn't anything bad I promise. You're very good at it, but like it's supposed to be it's a very rigid fighting style right?"

Hinata nodded "H-hai, it's b-based around the E-earth element."

"I thought so." Naruto nodded, and pulled out a slip of paper, and handed it out to Hinata "Here I want you to channel chakra into this paper."

Hinata's brow furrowed, but nonetheless grabbed it and did as instructed. When she did the paper became soaked in a near instant "I'm a-a Water E-element?"

Naruto grinned "Yeap, and that's why it's hard for you to learn your family's Gentle Fist." Hinata hung her head in disappointment "Hey now no need to be down." Hinata looked up with doubt in her eyes "Yeah your family's style is based around the Earth Element, but the chakra you're putting into it isn't rigid like the earth. It flows the like water."

"S-so I'll never a-achieve my families a-approval." Hinata's eyes looked down in disappointment

"Oi!" Naruto shouted, startling Hinata "We're not worried about your family right now, we're worried about you." Naruto pointed at her with a stern face "So what if you can't the 'proper'" he raised his hands, and did mock quotation marks "family style. We're going to change it so that way you can use it and not get yourself killed."

Hinata's eyes widened "C-change the G-Gentle Fist?" Naruto nodded, but Hinata shook her head "B-but we can't! N-no one has e-ever changed the s-style!"

Naruto grinned "There's a first time for everything." He saw Hinata worried look and grabbed her shoulders "Hinata, Your clan may not want to change the style, but you have people who want you alive. I'm very sure that your father would want you alive. Me, and Ino-chan want you alive. Hell, I can practically guarantee that most of our class wants you alive. So we have to do something to help you with that." He could still see doubt in Hinata's eyes, so he went in to seal the deal "Look at it this way Hinata. We're not totally changing it so it doesn't look the same, we're changing the motions. That's it. Just enough so your chakra flow, and your movements have more flexibility. More defense oriented, but you'll be amazed how much a perfect defense be the best offense."

Hinata felt so scared. Could she even do something like this, and not be going against her own clans laws? She was touched that Naruto cared, and the effort he's willing to put into helping, unlike anyone else. Her father couldn't tutor her or her own daughter because the clans style had to be learned on your own, with an occasional tip from the clan. This was all her father could do, regardless of the fact that he was the Clan leader. Yet what surprised Hinata the most was the excitement that coursed through her at the thought of finally learning something that could possibly get her back in good graces. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she couldn't make the decision alone.

Hinata looked up at Naruto who was looking at her intensely. She felt her face heat up at the close proximity, and well his eyes were a pretty blue "A-ano… Let m-me discuss it w-with F-father…. T-hen I'll d-decide Naruto."

Naruto grinned "Well at least you're thinking about it, and that's what matters." Naruto stepped back, and didn't notice that Hinata felt somewhat disappointed "Well I'm going to head home, you're more than welcome to stay here and train or would you like an escort for your way home?"

Hinata giggled a little "I'll b-be fine o-on my own."

Naruto shrugged "Suit yourself. See you tomorrow Hinata!" With that Naruto leaped out of the clearing.

Hinata stood there for a few minutes, and let out a breath. She didn't understand why she was acting that way around him now. All before this she merely admired him for his strength, and determination but now….. she's noticing little things about him.

Hinata let out a sigh, and jumped up into the trees head towards city proper _"Maybe I should bring it up to Ino…. She would know."_

Ninja Academy (Next Day)

Naruto yawned as he entered the classroom stretching his arms with Ino right behind with a bright smile on her face "So who do you think is going to be our sensei Naruto-kun?"

Naruto shrugged "I don't know really. I don't really know many Jonin to be honest. The only ones I really know are clan heads, and I doubt they'd be teaching a minor group of kids."

Ino nodded "You're right about that." Then another she poked at another question "What do you think they'll have us do today."

"I would think today is just getting to know your team leader." Naruto suggested "I doubt they would throw us straight into a test without us being fully prepared."

"Naruto's right." A bored voice sounded out from behind

Naruto's and Ino's heads spun around to find Shikamaru with a bored expression on his face "Oh hey there Shikamaru, surprising to see you here this early." Ino said with a surprised look on her face

He shrugged "As troublesome as it is, it's better than being scolded by our new sensei." He opened his eyes and looked at both of them "but back to Naruto's point. I assume for a genin testing they'll treat it like a mission. So they'll let us prepare before, at least that's how it should work."

"Well if Shikamaru thinks it's going to play out then there isn't a doubt in my mind." Naruto chuckled and took a seat in his usual spot. When he looked around the classroom it finally dawned on him that a lot of the class hadn't really made it through. _"Well at least most of those fangirls didn't make it through. They wouldn't have lasted long out in the field."_ Naruto let out a sigh

"A-ano…"

"Gah!" Naruto yelped, and jumped from his seat latching on the ceiling with chakra. When he looked down he found Hinata looking at him, along with everyone else in the room, with a confused expression. Chuckling sheepishly he dropped to the floor, and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment "Haha sorry about that, was zoning out."

Everyone shrugged and went back to their discussions, and Hinata stepped forward "A-ano I-I talked t-too my father."

Naruto raised his eyebrows "So what he say?"

 _Flashback_

 _Hiashi sat in his study looking over his clan's paperwork, ranging from finances to complaints. His face was blank as ever as was most Hyuga, but if you listened closely you may be able to hear the slight grinding of his teeth. Once again members of his clan had the audacity to try and push for his eldest daughters seal treatment. He stamped them with 'Rejected' and moved on through his paperwork. After a few moments he let out a sigh._

 _"_ _I don't know what to do." Hiashi thought to himself "She has the form, but it's taking far too long to learn." He let out another sigh, he didn't know how much longer he could prolong it. There was a subtle knock at the door. Hiashi activated his eyes and found it was his eldest._ "Enter."

 _Hinata slipped in through the door, and closed it and bowed_ "Is n-now a bad t-time father?"

 _Hiashi almost raised an eyebrow "Her stuttering has calmed significantly from this morning." Hiashi turned fully from his sitting position and nodded_ "Of course not. Have a seat." _Hinata nodded, and sat across from her father, she made two hand signs. Hiashi nodded and a made the Monkey Handsign and the privacy seals were activated_

 _After a moment Hinata looked up at her father's unwavering gaze_ "I m-met with m-my team today." _Hiashi nodded, he knew today her daughter would begin her genin days so long as her team could work together._ "T-they are N-Naruto Uzumaki, and Ino Y-Yamanaka."

 _Hiashi's eyes narrowed "So that's why her stuttering is lessoning. Even one day around that boy can be life changing." Hiashi cleared his throat_ "Sounds like a rather interesting team. Do you happen to know who your instructor is?" _Hinata shook her head_ "I assumed so. Carry on."

 _Hinata nodded_ "They h-helped me realize s-something today." _Hiashi now visibly rose an eyebrow, it wasn't everyday someone inspired his daughter._ "That if I truly want to achieve my dreams I have to be myself and not someone I'm not."

 _Hiashi was in slight awe, this was the first time he had ever heard his eldest speak clearly, but he kept his face in check, but if one were to look closely you could see a faint smile "Well it would seem that I have to thank some individuals."_

"So with that I have come with a request." _Hinata stated, and trying to keep her nerves in check. She was trying her hardest not to stutter, she wanted to be herself but that was one thing she wanted to change about herself._

 _Hiashi kept his face in check, but now he was curious to what her daughter wanted "She knows that she can't ask for help, but perhaps she's not looking for my help…"_

 _Hinata took a breath and held out simple piece of paper. She channeled her chakra into it and it instantly it became soaked_ "I have found my problem with the 'Gentle Fist'."

 _Hiashi frowned for a moment, before dawning of realization_ "Your chakra element doesn't work with the 'Gentle Fist'."

 _Hinata nodded and placed the paper down on the floor_ "This comes to my request." _She took another breath and calmly_ "Father with your permission I would like to alter the 'Gentle Fist' to suit my chakra nature."

"Alter the 'Gentle Fist'?" _Hinata nodded, and Hiashi let out a huff and brought a hand to his chin in thought._

 _This was completely unheard of in the entire clan's history. He didn't doubt there would be unrest either from clan elders. The mere fact that Hinata didn't have the right chakra nature for the 'Gentle Fist' was just more fuel to the fire. That was the other thing he didn't get. How did she have such a strong water element? His wife, before she passed, was a very strong woman and very talented at the 'Gentle Fist'. He frowned in concentration, there was something missing and he didn't know what. He thought back to his wife's fighting days, and began analyzing what he could remember. If there was one thing he knew about his wife, was that as much as she was strong, she was equally cunning._

 _As he looked back on it, he slowly began to see different motions within her style. She fought with grace, and without relent. All the while it was calm, warm, and determined. He was a fool to not even notice the changes. She even gained undeniable praise from the clan elders. Hiashi let a small smile grace his lips. She had altered the style for her own chakra nature, without an entire clan that claims to 'see' everything with their eyes._

 _Hiashi looked down at his daughter and found that her eyes were determined. Hiashi closed his eyes_ "Who will help you in this endeavor? You know I cannot have any direct training with you."

 _Hinata felt hope surge through her, he didn't say no_ "Naruto is the one that pointed it out to me father, and he said he would help me to the best of his abilities." _This is the part she was worried about, she didn't know how her father viewed Naruto_

 _"_ _It would seem, he's far more intelligent than I have been lead to believe." Hiashi inwardly smirked at the thought_ "I see…. What are your thoughts on young Naruto?"

"He's strong." _Hinata stated right away_ "He always stands back up when he falls, and he fights for what he believes in despite how others treat him." _Hinata looked down at her lap, and clenched her hands_ "He inspired me to do better for the longest time, and now he's pushing me to make it a reality." _She looked back up, directly into her father's eyes and held his gaze_ "I will get strong and fight for what I believe in, because that is now my ninja way."

 _Hiashi felt a small chill work down his spine, the sheer determination in her eyes reminded him of his late wife. Strong, determined, and a hint of mischief. Hiashi closed his eyes for a moment, and let out a long breath. He knew he was taking a huge gamble with this, but if anyone could deceive an entire clan it would be Naruto, and his daughter. After all she is his wife's daughter._

 _While with his eyes closed a small smile graced his lips_ "Very well, I will allow this, but on one condition and it is non-negotiable." _He opened his eyes and stared sternly at his daughter_ "This agreement is to remain between us, Naruto-san, and your team. That is all."

 _Hinata nodded, her heart soaring_ "Understood."

"Good." _Hiashi looked back at his pile of paperwork with a glare_ "Now if you'll excuse me I have 'this' to work on." _He turned around and picked back up his resting pen releasing the seals_

"Y-yes father. I-I'll b-bring you s-some tea." _Hiashi eyed his daughter, but when he looked he saw a small smile and received a mischievious wink and left to do her task_

 _"_ _I do believe Naruto may have just saved Hyuga clan." Hiashi smiled inwardly, and immeadiately scowled at yet another sealing request. With an angry jab the 'DENIED' stamp claimed another piece of paper._

 _Flashback End_

After Hinata explained what happened Naruto was genuinely surprised "To be honest I wasn't sure if your father would allow that, but hey don't have to worry about that now."

Hinata nodded in agreement "S-so when do we s-start?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head for a moment "Well it will be after our true genin exam, and after the physical examination I give you and Ino-chan."

Hinata nodded, and looked around and whispered in his ear _'I have to keep a stutter, I'm still under watch a little.'_

Naruto nodded with a smile "Of course it's alright. Why wouldn't it be?"

Hinata smiled "T-thank you."

With that Ino walked over with a smile "So I take it things went well?"

Hinata nodded, and Naruto smiled "Of course it would. Even if we didn't get the answer we wanted we'd still make it work, but this just makes it all the more easier." He grinned mischievously that sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

At that moment Iruka-sensei walked in "Alright everyone, in a few moments your new Jonin-sensei's will walk in and take you under their wings." He looked around the classroom seeing all the promising students that would no doubt change the world as he knew it "I want to take this moment to thank all of you for a fantastic three years. I've watched you all grow into already exceptional Shinobi and Kunoichi. Now the time has come for you to make a path with all that you've learned, and everything that you will learn." There was silence in the room "With that everyone I wish good luck, and be sure to keep in touch with your sensei yeah? After all I do care about all of you." Everyone smiled and gave subconscious nods in agreement "So without another moment of your time I'll take my leave." He bowed and walked out the door.

It wasn't long till a few Jonin came in and collected their fresh genin, but oddly enough Team 7's didn't show up, and yet Team 8's and Team 10's arrived together "Team 8? You're with me." The woman spoke and walked out of the room.

"Team 10 I'll meet you at Training Ground Ten." The man smiled and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

With that the two teams took their leave. Team 8 met with their instructor outside in the hall, while Team 10 went and continued on their way out of the building. After a moment the three Genin were looking expectantly at the new Jonin-sensei. She had wild black hair that went to her mid back. The only thing preventing her bangs from getting in her eyes was her Konoha headband. For attire she wore a red right sleeved undershirt underneath a standard mesh shirt. Over that she was thoroughly wrapped in white cloth with a thorn vine on it. Her legs were mostly exposed except her upper thighs which were wrapped in bandage wrappings much like Ino. On her feet she wore standard black shinobi sandals. Though the most prominent feature of all was her ruby red eyes that seemed to pierce into you.

"Well now that I know who you three are, I'll meet you all at Dan's Dango in five minutes." With that she put her hands together and vanished in a swirl of leaves. Leaving three very confused Genin.

"What was that about?" Naruto murmured, and yet there was something nagging at the back of his mind, as if he was missing something.

 **"Oi! Brat, you're under Genjutsu."** Kurama spoke through into his mind

 _"_ _You sure?"_ Naruto asked

 **"Yes I'm sure, look at your friends. You haven't moved an inch!"** sure enough they hadn't and both Ino and Hinata had a dull look on their faces **"I would know better than anyone what being under a Genjutsu is like. So brat you remember what to do right?"**

 _"_ _Are you sure that's a good idea?"_ Naruto asked, slightly worried _"Last time I did something like that it disturbed everything within a two mile radius."_

 **"If you want to fail fine by me."** Kurama shrugged within his mind **"Though I get the feeling that's not something you would do."**

Naruto let out a sigh _"Fine."_ Brining up a single hand for half a Ram Sign, and whispered ' _Release'_.

Now what happened is as follows. He gathered a 'small' amount of chakra in a point in his fingertips, and released it for a 'small' area of affect. Where 'small' actually equals a normal genin amount of chakra, and a two mile radius. It was enough to knock Hinata and Ino from the Genjutsu leaving blinking in confusion, and leaving their Jonin-sensei, who was still standing where she was, shocked beyond belief.

Naruto hung his head "I knew I shouldn't have done that."

"Wait hold on." Ino looked around confused "I could have sworn we were at least in the middle of town."

Hinata was looking around confused as well until it dawned on her "We w-were under G-genjutsu."

The Jonin regained her composure and nodded "Indeed, and you can thank your teammate for getting you out of it." She eyed Naruto for a moment before motioning them to follow "Well come we'll talk more at Dan's Dango." She began walking with the rest of Team 8 following behind.

…

Dan's Dango Shop

After a short ten minute walk they arrived at the well-known dango shop in Konoha. After sitting down each ordered a plate of dango, and once they received their order a silence fell over the table.

"Well it's time that I introduce myself." The female Jonin spoke up, gathering the attention of the genin "My name is Kurenai Yuhi, I am Genjutsu specialist, I like evening outings with my friends and comrades, and my dream is to ensure you become strong and capable ninja." She gestured to them "Now introduce yourselves." The three looked at each other chuckled lightly causing Kurenai to raise an eyebrow

Ino, still with a smile on her face, introduced herself "I'm Ino Yamanaka, I mostly use my family's jutsu, but have been focusing on taijutsu for a few years, and my dream is to have a family." When she finished she looked over at Hinata, and Naruto

Hinata smiled, before looking down and began, with a small stutter "I'm H-Hinata Hyuga,I primarily f-focus my family's t-taijutsu, but recently h-have a new f-focus. My d-dream, one day, is to r-reunite the Hyuga c-clan." Kurenai's eye's widened slightly, but remained slient and gestured to Naruto to finish.

Naruto grinned, and held his arms up, his hands behind is head "I'm Naruto Uzumaki, and focus on my family's taijutsu, ninjutsu, and fuinjutsu, and of couse my dream is to someday to be Hokage."

Kurenai had a slight furrow on her brow _"Family jutsu? I thought he was an orphan?"_ Kurenai quickly hid frown and smiled at her genin team "Those are all excellent dreams, and I hope that I can guide you all there." She looked out of the stand, and looked up at the sun. With a small smirk she looked back at her team "So I will give you both an option. You can take my genin test today right now or you can try tomorrow. Just be warned it would be recommended that you don't eat, it usually doesn't end well."

Now to most genin, they would jump at the opportunity, to test early and be done with it. That was what Kurenai was testing to see, being too eager to jump into a situation can mean certain death. Kurenai waited patiently for an answer, she had heard of Naruto's attitude when he was younger, and thought maybe some would bleed through, same for the young Yamanaka. Though to her surprise it wasn't meant to be.

The three genin looked at each other and gave a small smile to one another. They looked at Kurenai and answered in unison "No Thank You."

Kurenai was both shocked and little disturbed _"It's like they knew I was going to ask it."_ She cleared her throat "Hm, well if that's the case I'll see you at Training Ground Eight at nine o'clock sharp. Remember I suggest not to eat breakfast." She winked at them and made her leave via Shunshin.

Ino rolled her eyes "Everyone knows you have to eat breakfast, otherwise you'll have no energy to perform."

Naruto gave her a deadpan look "Says the girl who was on a 'diet' for two years." Hinata chuckled as Ino pouted with an embarrassed blush on her face. Naruto stretched his arms letting out a relaxed breath "So what are your girl's plan for today?"

Ino shrugged and looked over at Hinata who actually had an answer "I w-would actually l-like to work o-on that project." Hinata looked at Nartuo knowingly and he smiled, leaving Ino confused

Naruto stood up gesturing them to follow "Well we can discuss that somewhere else, Training Grounds or Homestead?"

"H-homestead." Hinata stated, and looked over at Ino "S-she can know N-Naruto."

"Well back to my place!" Naruto walked out of the building with a smiling Hinata and even more confused Ino.

Uzumaki Residence

Instead of the kitchen this time around they were in Naruto's living for a more comfortable environment. Once they were all situated Naruto closed his eyes for a few moments, and brought up his hands into the Monkey Sign. As a testament to his growing fuinjutsu skills, Naruto placed silencing seals all over his house. After all walls did have ears.

Naruto reopened his eyes and smiled sheepishly at the two of them "Sorry silencing all I got, they can still see they chakra, I'm still a novice but I'm improving steadily."

"Thank you Naruto." Hinata smiled, and now Ino had just about enough

"Ok what's going on?!" Ino shouted "I don't know what I'm 'allowed' to know, and now Hinata has lost her stutter….. Help me!"

Naruto chuckled "We're redeveloping the 'Gentle Fist' technique to suit Hinata's Chakra affinity. As for her stutter well I'm equally surprised, but hey good for her." He smiled and gave Hinata a thumbs up

Ino was actually shocked "You're redeveloping the 'Gentle Fist'? I'm surprised you're even allowed to do that."

Hinata shook her head "Well in a sense it's not, it has to remain a secret. Only my father and my team are allowed to know." Ino smiled and nodded. Hinata looked over at Naruto "So where should we start Naruto?"

Naruto took a thinking pose for a few moments before a grin came to his face "Alright, here's where we'll start…"

Next Day: Training Ground Eight (Morning)

Coming over the rise were two blondes who both content smiles on their faces, this from being they had a rather decent breakfast. Coming in from the side was young Hinata who also had a content smile on her face from an equally decent breakfast. They were at least fifteen minutes early, and so the early morning mist still hovered over the ground. If one looked around it looked slightly mysterious and foreboding.

They approached the center of the training field, and Kurama stirred within Naruto's mind _**"Hmm, it's another Genjutsu….. I'll let the brat figure this one out. I can't help him all the time."**_

Fifteen minutes rolled around, and a figure walked out of the forest who then revealed to be Kurenai "Good, you're on time. That's one thing Shinobi need to be, and that's to be at the right place and the right time." She gazed at their faces, and saw that they awaited for further instruction "So the object of this exam is to find me, and at least land one hit on me. If you can do that then you'll pass." Then she smirked "You only have three hours to do this, come at me with the intent to kill, and for extra incentive, the first two that find me are guaranteed to pass while the third one gets sent back to the academy."

With that she faded away from where she was standing, as if she was never there. After a few moments Naruto sighed "It's obvious that was a jab to get us to split apart."

Hinata nodded, and Ino huffed "That's just plain mean."

"Well let's get going." Naruto stated and jumped off into the trees with Ino and Hinata following right behind.

After getting into the trees Naruto, Ino and Hinata talked in hushed tones on the exact boundaries of the training grounds. They figured their sensei wouldn't go full out against them merely for the sake that they were genin, and she was a full blown jonin. So with that they shot forward in order to find their sensei. While launching forward Naruto had another objective in mind, Kurama was silent. Which meant that he was in a sense testing Naruto on how he's progressed from when he made his pact. So he wanted to see if his theory was correct.

Racing straight ahead, Naruto began to realize that something wasn't adding up here after the short while. One thing he knew about Training Ground Eight was that it was separated from the other fields by a stream of water. Yet they had been fast traveling in the trees for at least ten minutes and still had yet to run into the stream. Then there was the mist that surrounded them, yeah it was normal for mist to cover the grounds here, but it shouldn't be this thick and stay this long without a decent rain fall. It hasn't rained for a good week, and so due to the circulation of water, this mist shouldn't necessarily be here.

"A-ano…." Hinata began looking around, her Byakugan active "Something i-isn't right."

"I agree." Ino looked around, eyeing some of the plant life "There's too much similarity in the plant life here."

"So you guys caught on too huh?" Naruto asked and looked back at them and came to a stop on the branch with others right behind him "I should have known we were under one from the start considering what she did yesterday."

Ino's eyes widened "It's another Genjutsu."

Naruto nodded "Yesterday when I heard her name, I was curious because it sounded familiar, and so after doing some research I found out that our sensei is the Genjutsu Mistress of Konoha." Neither of them seemed surprised "So with that being said I'm going to try and break this one."

Hinata's brow furrowed "But I can't break this one with my Byakugan, it's too powerful."

Naruto waved his finger "Well that just means I got to flood the area now don't I?"

They both looked at him confused, and he chuckled. Holding his hand up once more in the half Ram Sign, he gathered chakra into his fingertips and release a two mile wide chakra pulse flooding the foreign chakra from their system. Instantly the mist disappeared from around them, the sun was higher up in the air, and standing in front of them was Kurenai with a neutral expression on her face.

 _"_ _That was a Rank B Genjutsu, and a high one at that. Most Chunin can't escape from that unless they have a Hyuga or adept at Genjutsu themselves."_ Kurenai thought to herself, she knew Naruto was the Kyuubi's container but this release he does is ridiculous. Kurenai lowered herself into a fighting stance "Well now that you got out of that, you have thirty minutes left." She charged at them kunai in hand, and was intercepted by Naruto who had his own kunai in hand.

Naruto stood his ground, and tried to sweep Kurenai's feet but she jumped back gracefully. In another instant a chain wrapped around her arm, and Kurenai had a look of surprise on her face as she was pulled in by Ino who was spinning and pulling on the chain. As Kurenai got in close Ino stopped rotating and tried to hit Kurenai with a jab, but due to released tension on the chain Kurenai disengaged and avoid it. Grabbing the other end of the chain Ino launched it back out, with the sharp end aiming for her legs.

Kurenai missed it narrowly and landed on the ground only to find another chain wrapped around the entirety of her body. She looked over to a smiling Naruto, and then she heard the sound of running feet.

Young Hinata's voice sounded out "You're within my Divination!" Her fingers glowed blue and began to surge forward in rapid bursts. She ended up ending with only sixteen palms landing, but she believed it would be sufficient. Though to her dismay Kurenai disappeared with only a log wrapped in the chains "A substitution!"

Kurenai was currently at the boundary of the clearing in the field _"Their teamwork is pretty spot for only becoming a team yesterday. It's as if they've been a team since they were in the academy. I expected Ino and Naruto to be close, but Hinata is also working very well with together with them. Interesting."_ A smile worked her way onto her face and looked up at the sky _"Only ten minutes left. What are you going to do now?"_

Currently on the field the three genin were conversing on what they were going to do next while in truth the three were actually in the trees looking at where Kurenai was hiding. Looking at the other Naruto whispered _'We got one shot at this.'_

Getting a collective nod they circled behind Kurenai and put their plan in motion. Naruto made three clones, and they charged Kurenai from three different directions. Kurenai looked surprised but jumped up to avoid the three Naruto's running at her. Using two chains the real Naruto from behind the real tree bound Kurenai to the tree while both Ino and Hinata launched out of the trees and connected a solid jab to her waist. Just in time too, because just after that jab connected a bell rang in the clearing.

Kurenai smiled as she felt the chains release from behind her "Well that was certainly well done." The three genin smiled at the praise "So with that being said Ino and Hinata congratulations on passing, since you two landed the hit as was the mission requirement."

There was silence amongst the group before Ino spoke "Well if Naruto-kun isn't going to pass then neither do I." Hinata nodded in agreement "We're supposed to be a team aren't we? I'm not going to leave him behind just for my betterment." Ino glared at Kurenai, and stood at Naruto's side

Hinata followed suit "He's t-the one w-who took the hit b-by distracting the e-enemy. He followed the mission perfectly."

Naruto looked at both of them and smiled and leveled his gaze at Kurenai "Anything for my teammates, and my precious people."

Kurenai adopted a scowl on her face, and crossed her arms. A pure red aura surrounded her "Is that so?" Her voice echoed and her eyes opened revealing two piercing, glowing, red eyes that contained no pupil, but yet the three stood strong not backing down "The you all…" Her voice heightened, and then it all disappeared leaving Kurenai with a bright smile on her face "Pass."

The three genin blinked at the sudden change in attitude, but Kurenai spoke back up to answer their questions "You followed your mission orders to the 'T' even knowing that one of you would be forced to fail. Then you stood by your teammate, willing to take the fall with him. No teammate is left behind. There is one saying that I will give Kakashi credit for 'Those who abandon their mission are scum, but those who abandon their comrades are worse than scum.'" Kurenai eyed her team for a moment, and smiled "You all did very well today, so you're free for the rest of the day. We start active duty missions, and team training tomorrow, Dismissed!" With that Kurenai left in a puff of smoke leaving three exhausted genin.

The three were silent for a moment before Naruto spoke "I can't help but feel like I forgot something…"

In the distance a female yell sounded "NARUTOOOOOOOOOO!"

He snapped his fingers "That's right! I forgot about the seal tags."

Ino and Hinata brought their palms to their faces, and then Ino spoke "What kind of seal tags?"

"Oh it was meant to merely distract her in case she broke free again. They were" a puff smoke appeared behind him and a now orange and blue seething Kurenai with her solid red eyes "paint…. Tags….." He turned around and met her gaze and whimpered "Save me…"

Hokage Office

Sarutobi was enjoying a nice long drag from his pipe, and let out a plume of smoke "Hmm I wonder how Naruto-kun, did on his team test?" he let out a sigh as he glared at the paperwork on his desk, wishing to vanish as quickly as his tobacco supply.

He picked up his pen and started to work on his paperwork once more when ear splitting yell ripped through the air surrounding Konoha "HELP ME!"

Sarutobi nearly jumped out of his chair at the sound, much to the amusement of the ANBU in the room "What the devil?" Sarutobi looked out the window to find young Naruto jumping across the rooftops with a frantic look upon his face, and right behind him was orange and blue woman who he recognized as Kurenai.

His eyes widened seeing the anger on the woman's face, he knew there was no one alive who could save Naruto now. He moved his hand to the side of the window watching as Naruto started running to his window with eyes filled with hope. Then Naruto stopped moving, and fear went into his eyes he was turned around face a snarling Kurenai who was still seething. Naruto turned his head to look at Sarutobi and mouthed 'Help me'.

Sarutobi looked at him glumly, and promptly, closed the blinds and stated "Let us bow our heads in memory of a fallen comrade." Like that every ANBU bowed their head in mourning as another ear splitting yell ripped through the air.

 **So tell me guys what do you think? I personally enjoyed the ending there, and keep in mind I wrote this portion at work so it was really hard not to laugh out loud. So before answer a few reviews, I would like to ask you all to participate in a poll:**

 **Which Summoning should Naruto get? There are four choices to choose from  
1: Toad Summoning  
2: Hawk Summoning  
3: Tiger Summoning  
4: Other/Review Suggestion**

 **This will change the course of the story so please participate in this poll, and please use the one I made, it makes it so much easier to keep track of than actually going through and counting through reviews...**

 **Now on to the Reviews:**

 **bigFan22: No Ino will not be getting Chakra Chains. Ino only uses an actual chain that will be amplified by seals that Naruto will implement further on in the story.**

 **Beastgamer118: For you and everyone out there... THIS WILL NOT BE A HAREM! Thank you for your input everyone it is most appreciated.**

 **Pouyafreydooni: I will never ever do that to either of them, and in all the personality I have for Sasuke is semi similar to what he was in the anime being as though he could careless about the girls who basically flaunt their bodies at him.**

 **Guest(goood storie): You didn't put the search as a Naruto X Hinata. You have to check a box at the top good viewer that says 'Pairing'. So when you search for Naruto and Hinata it will find every story that has the characters selected regardless of pairing.**

 **sweetlily90: There is a reason why I put him in a team full of women. One, to get him straightened out a bit more, and well for Hinata to realize her feelings, and combat with Ino for him. Which in turn pushes Ino to make a decision. It'll be real entertaining once it gets into Shippuden years... hehe**

 **Alright that's it for now. Make sure to do that poll, and leave a review on what you think. PM if you spot grammar mistakes, much better than looking for it in the reviews, and I personally want to thank you all for making this story so popular already, I mean I've seen stories on here that are older, and longer than mine with half as much as I got right now, so it really does mean a lot to me that you all made it this popular. I look forward to writing this further, and so with that said Later Days!**

 **As Always Everyone please support the Official Release and Enjoy!**


	4. Devil in the Mirror

**Hello Everyone! Miss me... why do you all have kunai... In any here is the chapter you've waited for long enough. I just want to say that the reason it took so long was because I didn't like how it was heading while writing this and so I decided to take it apart and rework it, and then I lost my job, and then got a new one, and all of a sudden I'm moving so yeah... it's been crazy. In any case though I love all the support and the messages and such I'll be answering down below. Also I have more info on the poll down at the bottom so in any case see you there!**

 **As Always Everyone please support the Official Release and Enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Naruto Franchise!**

Chapter: Devil in the Mirror

Uzumaki Training Ground (1 week later)

"Loosen up Hinata!"

"Hai!"

The sound of a chain clanging in the clearing is all that could be heard besides the occasional dull thud of metal hitting flesh. Here we found two young Kunoichi sparring while one was changing what she knew, the other was improving what she knew. As for the young man that was watching the two spar. Throughout the week he was surprised at their progress. He had given them their workout regime, and they took to it like a fish out of water. Though currently they weren't at the level where Naruto was going to give them a full body Resistance Seal. Not to mention at how embarrassing it would be. It had to be placed on the back and just under the chest, and that was NOT something he was keen to do.

Sure he liked Ino….. a lot, but he didn't think they were all that close to do something like that. Then there was Hinata and her father that would probably murder him if he found out. First they just had to build up the stamina, and then work on their strength. Though he did have an idea what Ino could pull off, that's if he read the biographies on the Sannin correctly that is. As they continued Naruto made notes on what he would have to correct for the both of them.

"Ok girls take fifteen." Naruto called out, and the girls did exactly that.

Ino went and sat up against the closest tree to her, and Hinata followed suit breathing heavily. They certainly were pushing themselves, and not holding back any either. Naruto almost felt a bit guilty having them do this training after their training with Kurenai-sensei, but part of being a ninja isn't to rely on another to specifically train you. After all it wasn't Kurama who wanted Naruto to learn it for himself. Not only to continue his father's legacy, but to also one day go see his family's home in Uzu country. It's rumored that only a Uzumaki can go there.

 **"** **Hey brat, call it a day. Tell them tomorrow is a rest day, and after they leave I want to talk to you…. In here."** Kurama spoke within his mind, and Naruto gave a mental nod

Naruto walked up to them and clapped his hands to gather their attention "So I think we're going to call it a day today, and tomorrow is going to be a day for our bodies to relax."

"Why the rest day?" Ino looked up confused "Not that I'm complaining."

Naruto chuckled "Well considering that your bodies don't have a healing factor like mine due to being a Jinchuriki, your body needs a day to recuperate and relax otherwise you'll be doing more harm than good."

Hinata nodded "Father was going to have me ask you for that anyway." Naruto grinned sheepishly "He was quite worried you hadn't taken that into account."

Naruto clutched his chest in mock-hurt "I would never miss such a crucial detail!"

Hinata and Ino gave him a deadpanned look and said in unison "Yes you would."

Naruto's eyebrow twitched in annoyance "I really wish you'd two stop doing that."

"No"

Naruto's eyebrow twitched once more, and let out a sigh hanging his head "Let's just call it a day already. I'll meet you at the training grounds tomorrow for another fun filled day of D-Ranks."

The two groaned and nodded nonetheless. So to wrap the evening training Naruto gave them the pointers, and they carried on their way. Naruto waited for another moment before getting into his traditional meditative position, and felt the pull from within.

Naruto's Mindscape

Naruto's eyes blinked open and examined his surroundings "Now where is he?"

Naruto's mindscape hadn't changed very much from when it first changed when he made the pact with Kurama. Aside from the wide training field that Kurama could change at will to match whatever he wanted to teach Naruto. Naruto walked over to the Japanese style housing, walked in and took of his 'shoes'. He then proceeded to walk around the house in pursuit of Kurama.

 **"** **I'm in the meditation room brat."** Kurama's voice echoed throughout the house, and Naruto proceeded to the location of his voice.

When Naruto entered the said room, he found Kurama in his usual human attire, black dress slacks, bright orange dress shirt, and his square wire framed glasses. Of course his orange unruly spikey hair was uncontrollable as well. He was sitting down across from him at a low table looking at him intently.

"So what's so important, that you cut my tor- uh I mean, my team training early?" Naruto asked as he sat across from Kurama

Kurama smirked a little at his slip up, but went back to all seriousness **"It has come to my knowledge that your body is ready for beast transformation."**

Naruto rose a visible eyebrow "Really? Wouldn't that be frowned upon though?"

 **"** **Then what is the point of making you a jinchuriki? You're supposed to use my chakra and abilities to give you advantages over your enemies."** Kurama explained, he hovered his hand over the table, and three images appeared.

One image showed Naruto shrouded in a see through red cloak that had nine visible tales, and two points as ears with visibly different eyes. The next image showed him encased in yellow and chakra flowing around him like flames with minor markings all around him. Then the last image showed him in a full on cloak of the same color and markings, but the eyes were visibly different as well, but it seemed hazy.

 **"** **These are my tailed beast variations. As you can see there are three levels, and as you grow older, and stronger you'll be able to access them. For now the first level is what we can begin working on."** Kurama stated, finishing his small lecture. He looked across at Naruto who looked at the images with curiosity.

"So what are the side effects?" Naruto asked not removing his gaze from the three forms.

Kurama grinned **_"Very wise for you to ask."_** Kurama then began to explain **"If you were to attempt this without our pact then you would be blinded by enormous amounts of rage, blood lust, and a need for destruction."** Naruto looked up, obviously disturbed by this information **"We do not have to worry about this since we made our pact. As for now we will build up your tolerance to my chakra in the first level. Once you can handle my chakra with nine tails, you will not have to worry about my chakra hindering you in the other forms."**

"Well that's a relief I suppose." Naruto muttered "Even with your healing factor this is going to hurt like nothing else isn't it?" All he got in response was a wicked grin from Kurama "Greeeat…." Naruto groaned

. . .

Team 8 Training Grounds (Next Morning)

It was another rather peaceful morning in Konoha as Ino and Hinata both waited for Naruto to arrive before their sensei. Ino had tried to get Nartuo up earlier, but he never answered the door, and she learned the hard way that there were days that Naruto was not a morning person.

Ino was silently staring at the ground, playing with her ponytail, while Hinata was looking around for anything particular "Was Naruto ok? It's unusual for him to be so late."

Ino nodded absently "He should be fine, there are just some mornings he isn't the most 'sociable'."

Nodding in understanding Hinata continued looking around "How long have you've known Naruto?"

Ino looked over at Hinata with a surprised look on her face "What brought that up?"

"You seem very comfortable around him, but around others you're guarded. Just an observation." Hinata shrugged and looked over at Ino

Ino looked down at the ground with a small smile "I've known him since the beginning of the academy, and maybe a little before that. I remember when Naruto first visited us, it was almost kind of sad how he ate the meal in front of him. He completely devoured it like it was going to be taken from him otherwise." Ino looked up at the sky "Now that I know why he thought that way I can't really say I blame him for it. After that day though we spent a lot of time together, and that included the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clan meetings where he met Shikamaru, and Choji. From that point on he put himself so far into my life that I don't know what it would have been like without him."

Hinata, in short, was quite surprised. She hadn't expected Ino to open up that much about it. She was just curious about how long, but the way she talked about him it seemed that she would be truly lost. If she were honest with herself she felt a little jealous about that. Naruto had done so much for her ever since they joined as a team. Even when not on the team he was the definition of perseverance, and hard work.

Hinata smiled "He seems to change everyone around him doesn't he?"

Ino giggled and wore the same smile "I know he did with me."

A silence fell upon the two kunoichi, as they continued waiting for their teammate. As the minutes dragged on they finally saw head of bright blonde hair, but with a completely tired face along with it. He looked up and saw his two teammates and gave them a small smile and wave and stood next to them.

"Sorry about being late this morning, the fox has me working on something new." Naruto let out a sigh and hung his head "It hurts like nothing else too."

Ino smiled and patted the top his hair comically "This is all you're getting for pity!"

Nauto's head shot up with a look of disbelief "That's all I get? A bloody head pat?!"

Hinata giggled, along with Ino, before she spoke "Consider a little compensation for driving us into the ground."

This continued on for a while with Naruto being on the receiving end. So after fifteen minutes Kurenai arrived to find two chipper kunoichi, and a blonde shinobi hanging his head, his eye twitching in irritation. If she still wasn't a little miffed at the blondes 'prank' earlier in the week she may have felt sorry for him.

"Alright Team Eight" She addressed them, catching their attention "I already got our D-rank Mission for today and when we're through we'll work chakra pool increase exercises afterwards."

"What mission did we get?" Naruto asked hoping it wasn't something too bad. His muscles were really sore from Kurama's chakra enhancements.

Kurenai smiled "Finding Tora the cat."

…

Hokage Tower (Midday)

Now Hiruzen has seen many things in his lifetime. From the horrors of a battlefield to the sanctuary 'research' fields he accompanied with Jiraiya in his younger years. Though this was probably one of the more humoring sights he has ever seen in his life. Kurenai stood behind her genin with an amused smile, while both Kunoichi were struggling to hold in their giggles with young Naruto standing between them his clothes ripped, stained, and basically ruined. That wasn't all, oh no, all over his body he was covered in scratches, bruises, and scrapes. To finish it all off he was glaring at the said 'perpetrator': Demon Incarnate A.K.A 'Tora the Cat'. Who was currently being smothered by the Daimyo's wife.

 _"_ _Yes. YES. Suffer you bloody damn fake of a cat! Choke, CHOKE ON MY VENGEANCE!"_ Naruto chuckled evilly in his mind causing Kurama to shake his head in embarrassment

 ** _"_** ** _Behold my mighty container."_** Kurama thought, and let out a sigh

Hiruzen chuckled lightly "Well done Team Eight, another D-rank mission completed successfully. You may retrieve your pay in the usual manor. You are dismissed for today."

As the team exited the building, they began their trek to the team's training ground for the day. Hiruzen leaned back into his chair and let out a long sigh. As amusing as that had been for him, he was still tired. He had served as Hokage for far too long, but there wasn't anyone who could take his place, willingly that is. As he stared out the window while his Shadow Clone was working diligently on a new pile of paperwork that seemed to have manifested by itself, a knock came upon his door.

He dispelled his clone, and turned to face the door "Come in." When the door opened his face took a more serious look. The man who entered was none other than Hiruzen's old teammate, and was known as the 'Warhawk'. "Danzo, to what do I owe the visit?"

Danzo stood with his ever present stoic face that could give many Hyuga's a run for their money "It is about the Kyuubi container."

Hiruzen closed his eyes, and let out a sigh "We have been over this many times before Danzo."

"I am indeed aware." Danzo replied, obviously irritated "But this is another matter entirely regarding the boy."

Hiruzen eyed his former teammate warily "You have my attention."

"Yesterday there was an influx of the Kyuubi's chakra that extended for a quite some time. I am curious if the boy's seal is secure." Danzo stated, even though he knew full well what the boy was doing, he wanted to know if Hiruzen knew more

Hiruzen closed his eyes "I am very well aware of that. I assure you it was perfectly fine, and I have taken precautions to ensure that panic does not ensue. As for Naruto-kun's seal it is perfectly fine, the seal holds strong."

"I see." Danzo pondered for a moment "If he has begun to dabble into the Kyuubi's power he needs to be kept under watch. I would like to volunteer my services."

Hiruzen reopened his eyes and glared at Danzo "I thank you for offering, but you need not worry I have made arrangements."

Danzo gripped his cane, almost making it creak "Very well, I will take my leave."

He turned and proceeded to leave before Hiruzen spoke once more "Danzo, I sincerely hope you will leave well enough alone. I may be soft in your eyes, but I am by no means incapable of stopping you."

In that instant the room was flooded with thick Killing Intent. The ANBU in the room immediately tensed. This was more than they really felt coming from the Hokage, but it wasn't just the Hokage it was coming from Danzo as well. Most people would have fainted from the sheer amount, but to all in that room it was merely a warning dose.

"We shall see Hiruzen." Danzo stated and left the room without another word.

Once Danzo had left all tension in the room dissipated as if it was never there to begin with. Hiruzen continued to glare at the door until he finally closed his eyes, and leaned back into his chair. He turned to look out the window to see yet the peaceful looking Konoha.

He let out a tired sigh "I am far too old for this." He turned back to the desk gazed back at the scroll that was open. "I hope for all our sakes Naruto-kun you know what you're doing."

 _Dear Hokage-jiji_

 _I'm pretty sure you were told of the recent kyuubi chakra flare. I promise you that everything is fine. Kurama has me working on Beast Transformations. Stage 1 is the only one I can do at this time, and it's not even complete. I can only hold one tail's worth of power with only slight drawbacks. After that my body will begin to deteriorate, but Kurama is acting as a mediator to prevent that._

 _Now I'm sure you're worried, but no need to worry about me Gramps, I'll be extra sure to take this slow considering all that is at risk. All I ask is for a bit of faith. I've already put up a few seals around my training ground to prevent the chakra flares from occurring anymore, so you won't have to bother with that type of paperwork. If you have any questions for me or Kurama don't hesitate to ask Gramps._

 _The Next Hokage,_

 _Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki_

Naruto's Private Training Grounds (Evening)-(Two Months Later)

"GAH!" Naruto cried out as his fifth tail grew out from the cloak.

It had been two month's since Naruto started training in Beast Transformation, and within two weeks of doing so, he was cornered by a concerned Ino, Hinata, and surprisingly Kurenai. Naruto knew Kurenai knew of his burden, but didn't expect to her to be fully into helping him. That was proved wrong when she cornered him and forced him to have a conversation with her. As for their concern, Naruto had been showing up to their practices, and missions tired, sore, and more than a bit agitated. So after prodding him, he finally confessed to what he was doing.

So that lead to all three of them being in his private training ground while he practiced with his Beast Transformation. To say the least it really pained them to watch it, but they said they would be there for him if he passed out or needed healing. Though that wasn't the only thing they did in the training grounds. They had to make use of the time given, and so Kurenai would do her best to train the two worried young kunoichi.

She had tried to teach Hinata genjutsu, but her Byakugan cancelled it before it could even form. Though this didn't stop Ino from picking up the art. Hinata on the other hand picked up some med-nin jutsu, but due to clan laws she couldn't fully devote to the art even if her chakra nature was suited to the task. Though Kurenai did imply that they didn't necessarily _HAVE_ to know. Hinata then decided to, secretly, become the team's main med-nin and fully devoted to the field.

As Ino picked up genjutsu she continuously worked diligently worked with her father in her own clan's jutsu. She even found out her own elemental affinity being water, and a minor lightning. That had been tremendously helpful into fixing her taijutsu to fit some elemental components into it.

Of course Hinata didn't slack either, she had her new taijutsu version of the Jyuuken down to a science. All that was left was performing it against more formidable opponents. She refused to test it on the ones that created it sorely for the fact they knew how to pick it apart. She needed to train against others who didn't know it all, but also knew a little about the Kyuuken. With that set aside she also picked up single handed jutsu's. Such as the **Water Style: Water Bullet** and the **Med-Art: Chakra Scalpel.** All in all she made her new style even more deadly.

As the minutes dragged on Kurama watched intently while his container held his chakra **_"Hmm even with the healing factor gained by having me inside him, he sure is developing this rather quickly."_**

"GAH!" Naruto cried out again, and fell to one knee panting

Kurama's eyes narrowed **"Withdraw the fifth tail."**

Naruto complied and allowed the fifth tail to dissipate, shortly after his breathing leveled but was still labored _"I guess I wasn't far enough into the fourth tail as I thought I was."_

Kurama shook his head **"No you are. Let's just say that the fifth tail is a milestone for us to get past. It may be because you're a bit too young to go further. After all I didn't expect it to go this well."**

 _"_ _Well it's something I guess."_ Naruto mentally shrugged _"What's the plan Kurama?"_

 **"** **Call it a day, you deserve it. We won't pick up this till later. As for now, you will NOT go past four tails. Are we clear?"** Kurama stated firmly, and he received a mental nod from Naruto **"Good now get going brat, your blonde vixen is worried about you."** Kurama grinned mischievously

Naruto's beast cloak faded from around him, but was blushing intently _"She's not my vixen, damn fox. She's my friend and teammate… well maybe she could….. No! Bad thoughts!"_

Kurama was having laughing fit inside his mind while Naruto continued to mutter 'stupid pervert foxes'. He walked over to the three Kunoichi and gave them a tired smile.

"Looks like my body isn't developed enough for the fifth tail so this training is put on hold for now." Naruto stated, and he got three relieved looks, and Naruto fixed his eyes to the ground "Sorry about this, I'm sure this isn't something you want to see."

Kurenai rested a hand on his shoulder, and smiled at him as he looked up "There is nothing to worry about Naruto-san. I am just relieved you won't be hurting yourself with this training for a while."

Naruto smiled, and rubbed the back his head sheepishly "Thanks Kurenai-sensei. Sorry for worrying you all with this."

Kurenai smiled and looked at her students "Well I suppose I could treat everyone. How's about a trip to Ichiraku's?"

Naruto instantly had a smile on his face "Alright!"

Ino and Hinata felt relieved that Naruto's transformation training had come to an end. They could obviously see that it was painful to enter to the state, let alone maintain for long periods of time in combat. Though there was one benefit that actually came for him when he did the transformations. His hair remained the ever present vibrant blonde, but his now had reddish tints on the ends, and it even gave him a bit of a height boost. Nothing too much just taller than they were. If anything made his appeal even greater along with his outfit, and so it in turn left him with even more fan girls running about. Much to his ire of course.

As they entered the famed Ichiraku stand they were greeted by a smile and a happy Teuchi "Well hello there, my favorite customers. C'mon on in take a seat Ayame will be right with you."

At that moment Ayame came out with smile "Hey everyone who's tab, and what shall it be?"

Kurenai raised her hand "It'll be my tab this time around, and I'll take a miso."

"Pork." Hinata stated

"Vegie." Ino said with a smile

"Pork and Miso, Ayame-nee!" Naruto said with a grin

"Coming right up!" Ayame wrote down the orders, and went to work behind the counter

After a few minutes Kurenai spoke up "Alright team tomorrow will be a somewhat of a training day. We also won't be taking any missions tomorrow."

Ino's brow furrowed "Why's that? We always at least do three because of Naruto's Shadow Clones."

"That is true, but tomorrow is our team's evaluation." Kurenai explained "During this month all genin teams are being evaluated to see if they are eligible for C-rank missions. How the test is conducted is different for every team."

Naruto raised an eyebrow "So unlike the second genin exam, it may not be solely focused around teamwork?"

Kurenai nodded "Correct. So after this I want you all to get some rest tonight, you'll need it."

All three nodded, and Hinata spoke up "W-what would h-happen if we f-failed?"

"Nothing bad I assure you. Nothing as extreme as being sent back to the academy, though if they see anything that should arouse suspicion they'll look into it." Kurenai stated "Though I doubt that would happen in our case. The worst thing for us will be only be doing more D-rank missions, till the next examination. Though that'll be the Chunin Exams this year, and the rate that you three are progressing I may enter you all."

Their eyes widened in surprise. They didn't think they were all that strong to be recommended to enter the exams. Though in truth for their genin generation they were actually on top in terms of skill and knowledge. Naruto being a natural leader, ninjutsu specialist, and minor taijutsu specialist. Hinata being support, taijutsu specialist, and med-nin. Then there was Ino who was long ranged, genjusu specialist, and minor taijutsu specialist. Though this was their known skillset. If they were in actual combat the only semi-predictable one would be Hinata.

So after that statement, their meals arrived and they indulged in their fine cuisine. After the ramen was gone and other conversations were finished they all parted their separate ways. Aside from Naruto and Ino that is. They always walked home together unless Naruto stayed behind to practice a bit more. As they walked down the pathway they saw a familiar sight of Team Seven. With that being an ever brooding Sasuke, a love struck fan-girl Sakura, and an irritated Kiba. Being followed by their lazy sensei reading his beloved book of smut.

Now one would believe that Ino would have took off after Sasuke, well you obviously don't know her at all "Hey Kiba how's Akamaru?" Ino called out to her friend

Kiba looked up to see who was addressing him and he smiled and waved "Hey there Ino, Naruto!" He jogged to greet them with Team Seven trailing behind. Akamaru yipped from atop Kiba's head in greeting and signifying he was 'OK' "What are you guys up too?"

"Just heading home after a day of training and getting a bite to eat. Tomorrow's our Team Examination." Naruto explained, and their sensei rose an eyebrow

"Ah it seems they're going reverse order this time." Their sensei looked up from his book, and stated out loud

Sakura looked up at their sensei "What do you mean, and what do they mean by Team Examinations, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi looked at Sakura "Team Examinations are for Genin cells to see if they're ready for C-rank mission assignments. Now as for my earlier statement, they are doing the examination starting with the higher teams instead from Team One."

Sakura nodded satisfied, and then Team Seven took their leave wishing them luck. Naruto looked over at Ino and saw her gazing after Sakura "You know Ino if you want to make up with her I'm not stopping you."

Ino shook her head and turned to face Naruto "I'm not ready for that to be honest. What she said that day still hurts."

Naruto nodded "Well it's up to you, I'll support you in whatever you choose."

Ino smiled and started walking ahead "Thank you, Naruto-kun."

…

Yamanaka Household (Evening)

Ino was lying down on her bed looking up at the ceiling. Her light had long since turned off, and her old glow in the dark star stickers were the only things that were giving any type of light in the room besides the moonlight. She knew that she should be sleeping and resting for tomorrow, and yet her mind would not stop thinking. Of all the things she could be thinking about it happened to be about her love life. She thought back to her crush on Sasuke, and the moment where it all disappeared. It was quite the rude awakening to her, and it didn't even happen to her.

 _Flashback_

 _It was right after she had found out that Naruto was working on Kyuubi transformations, and she had just left to do some shopping. She happened to spot her friend Kiba, and his two teammates Sakura and Sasuke. They were coming back from their training, and Ino was going to check up on Kiba and Sasuke when she saw their mood._

"This is completely ridiculous." _Sasuke scoffed_ "Stuck with you two, and forced to do chores. This isn't helping me become a better ninja at all."

 _Kiba groaned, and Akamaru growled_ "We get it you're upset. Boo-hoo cry me a river. I'm not happy ab-OWW!" _Kiba cried out and started rubbing his head where Sakura had just punched him_ "The hell was that for?!"

"Kiba-baka! Don't talk down to Sasuke-kun like that!" _Sakura yelled at them with ever present screech_

 _Sasuke rolled his eyes_ "You're just as annoying as he is. You and your blonde friend both annoy the hell out of me. You're both pathetic excuses for ninja." _With that Sasuke sulked off, muttering to himself. Leaving a saddened Sakura, and a shocked Kiba._

 _Meanwhile Ino was standing stock still, tears gathering in her eyes "Sasuke doesn't even…. He doesn't…I'm not…." Her thoughts remained incoherent and jumbled not even making sense to herself as she continued to stand where she was…. Out of sight, and out of mind._

 _Back to where Kiba and Sakura were, Kiba had just gotten over his shock and looked over Sakura who was still had a sad look in her eye. Now Kiba didn't necessarily like her, but no one deserved to be told off like that, even if you were from an 'Elite' clan. At first he didn't know what to do so instead he grabbed Akamaru and set him on Sakura's shoulder brining out her out of her shell shock sadness._

 _Kiba looked away from her_ "He'll let you pet him if it'll make you feel better."

 _Sakura gave a small smile, and whispered 'Thank you'._

 _Flashback End_

That day tore her apart, and that fact it was from one of her crushes. He was utterly ruthless when it came to other people's feelings. If it wasn't beneficial to him at all then it wasn't worth the time of day. When she went back home that day, she had unintentionally walked into Naruto's home to find him meditating on his back porch. Without so much of a word she sat down, and rested her back up against him. If he was surprised she was there then he didn't show it. Throughout the rest of the day she told him what happened, and he let her cry out on his shoulder never once scolding her. He had stayed with her till she was better and ensured her that everything would be fine.

That stood till this day after that whole ordeal. It was proven again once more today since he didn't stop her from trying to patch things up, but she also decided to not tell him that he had placed his hand on her back. When that happened she had to push down the blush that had threatened to come to fruition. Thinking back to it, that little act had made her extremely happy inside. She wasn't going to deny herself any further that she had a full on crush for Naruto, and who could blame her?... besides the Sasuke-Fan-Brigade.

She let out a sigh, and rolled onto her side, and whispered into her pillow _'What am I doing? I had no problems acting on my emotions for Sasuke, so why now?'_

As she mulled over this more she realized that maybe this time around it was actually true love, and not some silly crush. She's already spent near almost seven years with Naruto as a neighbor and friend. Friend. That's what it was. She was his 'friend', and she didn't want to lose someone this close to her.

She looked over at her clock, and it read Eleven Thirty. She then gazed out her window. She got up and walked over to it, and as she looked out she saw there was a light on in Naruto's kitchen.

Ino frowned _"He should be in bed."_ And so without a second thought she opened her window, jumped out, and walked over to Naruto's house.

Meanwhile Naruto was hard at work on a current Fuinjutsu project. Before him were thicker parchment cards. There were six total, and each were different. In the very center of the matrix were different elemental symbols or the symbol of Chakra. One for fire, one for water, one for earth, and so on and so forth. He decided to test these cards first before he dabbled into the more intricate ones such as the Yin and Yang chakra natures. What he was hoping to do with this little project was to convert chakra to these nature affinities.

The goal is to able to use these cards to enhance a current jutsu such as wind to fire or vice versa, give his wind affinity something to strengthen. The other purpose is actually an **Element Prison**. Though this required a seal card in the middle to consume any chakra going outside the trap. So far the entire project had been a bust until tonight when he found out how to link the cards together.

As he was musing there was a knock on his door, he looked up at the clock confused _"Who would come knocking on doors this late at night?"_ he got up and walked over to the door opening it tentatively, and he got a shock "I-Ino-chan?! What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

Ino rose an eyebrow, and put her hand on her hip "I could ask you the same thing, Naruto-kun. What are you doing up so late?"

Naruto grinned sheepishly "Breakthrough on a Fuinjutsu project."

Ino rolled her eyes "Should have known."

Naruto chuckled, and then took in her appearance. She was wearing a white t-shirt, and tight black shorts. It was definitely her night clothes, and occasional lazy day wear. Though from what he could see the shirt was starting to get a tad small… Bad thoughts!

Kurama chuckled in his mind **"There's nothing wrong with admiring you mate, brat."**

 _"_ _How many times do I have to tell you? She. Is. Not. My. Mate!"_ Naruto growled

Kurama merely chuckled again **"That may be the case now, but soon you'll want nothing more than…"**

 _"_ _Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah I can't here you!"_ Naruto shouted within in his mind while fiercely fighting down a blush that wanted to overcome his face

Ino looked at Naruto confused seeing his face and eyes going through different emotions "You ok there Naruto-kun?"

"Huh?" Naruto refocused, and saw Ino looking at him "Uh yeah I'm fine." He coughed and gestured inside "You wanna come in? I was about to heat up some milk."

Ino nodded, and let herself in "That's actually sounds good, thank you Naruto-kun."

"Anytime Ino-chan." Naruto grinned and closed the door

As they entered Ino noticed the cards, the ink pens, wells, and Naruto's personal Fuinjutsu notes. Still to this day she hardly understood what all went into fuinjutsu, but she did learn how to make storage scrolls, and some minor explosive notes. That's all she could really understand to make.

As Ino sat down and examined the cards before her, she asked "So what exactly did you have a breakthrough in?"

Naruto facing the stove smiled "My **Elemental Configuration**."

Ino jerked her head to him in shock "You finally completed it?! You started this your fourth year right?"

Nodding, Naruto grinned "That's right, surprised you remembered it."

"How could I not." Ino chuckled "You wouldn't stop telling everyone about it."

Naruto chuckled sheepishly "Yeah….. Can you blame me though? It was my first idea to actually attempt to create."

Ino giggled "I suppose not." She returned her attention back to the cards on the table "Have you tested it yet?"

At that moment Naruto set a mug of hot milk in front of her, and shook his head "No, I literally just made the breakthrough. I won't be able to test it till after tomorrow's examination."

Ino nodded and began drinking out of her mug, with Naruto following suit. They sat in comfortable silence. For the two it had been quite some time since they enjoyed a moment like this with each other. Both missed each other's company even though they were neighbors. Most of the time they were exhausted or had their own personal agendas to meet up and talk with one another. So it was moments like this they cherished to the fullest extent.

As Ino sat in her chair thinking about what she was thinking about earlier, she gazed over at Naruto who was staring at his Fuinjutsu cards _"I wonder if he has anyone that he likes? He never really talked about it."_ Ino mused to herself, and the flashback came to mind, and so she decided to ask what was on her mind "Hey Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked up at her "Yes Ino-chan?"

Ino smiled, "Do you have anyone you like?"

Naruto choked on his milk trying his best not to spill it on his project. All the while Kurama was roaring with laughter **"This is too perfect! Bahahahaha Well go on Kit why don't you tell her how you feel? Now's the chance."**

Naruto growled internally _"Are you crazy?! She just got over a realization that Sasuke, her long time crush, couldn't stand her. I don't want to give her any more stress to deal about."_

Kurama shook his head **"Then why would she ask you this then? Maybe she wants to know if she has competition hehehe. The ideas are endless with you humans."**

Naruto mentally shook his head in exasperation _"Of all the Biju to get stuck with I had to end up with the perverted one."_

Kurama scoffed **"If you want perverted try the Nibi. She's just as cunning as a fox, but ferocious as a cat, but I'll be damned if she isn't a pervert."**

Naruto mentally shook his head, and then refocused his attention on Ino "I can't say anyone comes to mind. I mean I like you, Kurenai-sensei, Hinata, and the rest of my class… with a few exceptions of course."

Ino blinked before looking down at her mug with a small smile and muttered "Of course you see it that way."

Naruto tilted his head in confusion "Sorry I didn't hear you Ino-chan."

Shaking her head "It was nothing." She stood up placed her mug in the sink and began walking out "Thanks for the milk Naruto-kun. I'll see you tomorrow." And with that she walked out of Naruto's house.

Naruto continued to sit where he was before murmuring "Or was that exactly what you wanted to hear Ino-chan? Did you really want to know…" Naruto looked through his kitchen window and watched as Ino climbed back into her room and closed the window "How I truly feel?"

. . .

Team Eight Training Grounds

As the sun rose for yet another day in the Konoha, the genin of Team Eight made its way to their usual training area for their examinations. The only one that was slightly exhausted was Naruto having stayed up an extra hour working on his project. The three entered the training ground surprised not to see their sensei anywhere in the vicinity. Naruto did a quick look around, and held a half Ram Sign in front of him.

"No need for that Naruto, but good job taking the initiative." Kurenai stepped out of the forest line

Naruto brought down his hand and grinned "Can never be too sure Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai smiled "Indeed." She approached her Genin and held out a scroll "This is our mission, also our examination." Naruto grabbed and unrolled it with Ino and Hinata looking over his shoulders "Your mission is to escort, and protect me for the assigned route. I will not be able to help you during this time."

Naruto nodded as he continued reading the scroll, and then Ino spoke up "Is it ninja that we're protecting you from or is it bandits?"

"Mainly bandits, but some may have Ninja training." Kurenai stated "Also should I fall into enemy hands the mission is failed immediately."

Naruto narrowed his eyes, but nonetheless nodded in understanding "One shot is all we have. Well I'll broaden our chances then." Nartuo grinned, and placed a hand on Kurenai's arm. There was a small disturbance in the air, but after that there wasn't any change in scenery "Well Kurenai-sensei will follow me then we shall be on our way."

Kurenai nodded, and then the rest of Team Eight fell into formation escorting their 'Client' to the appropriated zone. Meanwhile a single Shinobi lay hiding in the tree line, a Chunin to be exact. His name was Mizuki, and he was grinning like a mad man.

 _"_ _This is too perfect. I'll get my revenge on the demon, and no one will be the wiser. Then all I have to do is take the scroll while the fool of a Hokage frets over his dead body."_ Mizuki chuckled evilly before watching the team making their way down the path. _"Though I am surprised they would be stupid enough to walk down the actual path. Oh well it makes it easier for me."_ Mizuki jumped from tree to tree as quietly as he could all the while a clone of Naruto dispelled.

Opposite side of the Training Grounds

Naruto blinked and frowned "Odd."

"What's wrong Naruto-kun?" Ino looked over at Naruto as they walked down the pathway.

"Our examiner is Mizuki, but that alone isn't anything special but he just seemed off." Naruto stated "Makes me glad I did what I did."

Hinata nodded "It was quite the plan. When did you have those clones made?"

Naruto grinned "Early this morning just in case. Besides if you know the area where conflict is to arise always scout it out."

Kurenai rose an eyebrow _"I knew he was intelligent, but all this planning beforehand is almost like a Nara."_ As her team continued on she retraced what she knew of what exactly what happened.

When Naruto touched her arm they had performed a perfect Kawarimi. Not once, but twice. He had made three groups of Henge'd clones as the whole group that started at four different locations of the training field. Not only that but both Hinata and Ino had done it in perfect sync with him. Kurenai smiled to herself, her team was bonding really well to be able to do such teamwork. That was other thing that was built up over time, Naruto had slowly became their strategist. When Kurenai allowed it that is. If Ino or Hinata had any objections or input he would listen, and change accordingly. He would make an excellent team leader, and more than likely upcoming Chunin.

As they continued walking forward, Naruto stopped and grabbed his throat with obvious discomfort. Ino frowned in worry "Naruto-kun?'

That was another deliberate kill shot. He understood that the test was made to simulate life and death situations, but these were on another whole level. A bandit or even a Ninja with very little training shouldn't be able to throw a kunai or shuriken of that size that accurately. It would seem that he would have to do something incredibly stupid.

"I'm fine, but it just seems that our instructor is performing far above our mission level." Naruto made a set of clones and sent them out just in case. Naruto looked over at Hinata "Could you do me a favor and look around at our surroundings?"

Hinata nodded, and activated her Byakugon "Mizuki is approaching at a decent rate of speed from east side." She stated accurately and deactivated her eyes

Naruto nodded "Very well then he'll be approaching my next clo….." and Naruto frowned "Again he attacked me first…." He pulled out his mission scroll "The instructions state to protect you so by all means he should be going after Kurenai-sensei." He closed the scroll and gazed out into the woods "Those attacks are also far above Genin standards. I think he is really trying to kill me."

Kurenai's gaze narrowed "Are you absolutely sure about that."

Naruto nodded "But I want to be absolutely sure he isn't doing this because he 'knows' they're clones. So I'll ask you to please remain our client." Kurenai gave a slight purse of her lips, but nodded "Thank you Kurenai-sensei."

With that the group continued forward. All the while Mizuki was absolutely fuming that he had been duped not once, but three times now by mere genin, and especially 'Him'. As he continued making his rounds he came across the said group he was supposed to 'test'. Mizuki watched as they walked on, but now he knew he had the right group. They were tense, they were watching their surrounding warily. He knew that the clones shared memories, but he knew he just knew these were the real ones.

Mizuki jumped a few trees ahead waiting patiently as the group closed in further. As they approached he pulled a large Shuriken off his back. He jumped from his tree and launched his Shuriken. As it flew down a single chain shot out from the forest and wrapped around the Shuriken. Its rotation immediately stopped and it swung uselessly into the forest line. Mizuki's eyes widened in surprise as two other chains shout out from the forest line in an attempt to snag him out of the air, but he quickly Substituted with a nearby log.

 _"_ _So I was right. They are the originals."_ Mizuki grinned, _"Well now I finally get to have some fun."_ Mizuki proceeded to pull another large Shuriken from off his back. He aimed and launched out his last Shuriken. " **Shadow Shuriken Jutsu!"**

The Shuriken immediately multiplied into twelve identical, and equally real, Shuriken raining down upon Team Eight. Both Ino and Hinata grabbed Kurenai, and jumped backwards while Naruto jumped forwards to avoid the onslaught.

 _"_ _Perfect! Finally, I will get my justified revenge!"_ Mizuki internally grinned and jumped out of his hiding spot. Delivering a solid kick on Naruto sending him flying into the forest, and quickly jumping after him.

Ino tried to follow but Hinata held arm back "Hinata?! What are you doing let me go?!"

Hinata shook her head "Remember what he told us?"

 _Flashback_

"If Mizuki separates us continue on with the mission alright?" _He turned and faced his teammates_ "He may just be doing a divide and conquer scenario despite over excessive attacks."

"So that should mean we stick together then. Not split apart like he wants us too." _Ino argued back and Hinata nodded in agreement_

 _Naruto let out a sigh_ "I'm more than strong enough to handle Mizuki, and besides I don't want to hurt you all when I perform some of my techniques if I have to bring them out." _Then Naruto grinned mischievously_ "In any case I still owe him a little bit for 'attempting' to screw my taijutsu."

 _Flashback End_

Ino looked ready to argue, but she knew Hinata had a point "Fine." She looked out into the forest _"You better know what you're doing Naruto-kun."_

Deep with-in Training Ground Eight

 _"_ _I really hope I know what I'm doing."_ Naruto grumbled internally as he held his sore ribs "Damn that actually hurt. Not pulling any punches are you, Mizuki-sensei?"

As he said that, Mizuki jumped in front of him with a smirk on his face "Forgive me, but that's a little payback for graduation day."

Naruto grinned sheepishly "Yeah sorry, but in all fairness it could have been you or Iruka-sensei. I decided by a coin flip."

Mizuki shook his head, then his smirk darkened "Now that you're alone and your friend's are out of the way." Mizuki quickly pulled two Kunai and chucked them quickly pinning Naruto by his clothes against the tree "I can go on what I truly want to do."

Naruto's eyes widened "What do you mean Mizuki-sensei?"

"Why I mean killing you of course." Mizuki stated without sympathy "It was something that I wanted to do before you graduated, but alas I have to make do with what I have."

"W-what w-why?" Naruto paled in fear

"Because of the demon you are." Mizuki growled out, and Naruto's eyes widened "Haven't you ever wondered why you were always hated? Ignored, beaten, and pushed away?" Naruto's head hung hiding his eyes while Mizuki grinned "It's because inside you, no… because you are the Kyuubi no Kitsune! It was never killed it was sealed into you the day you were born!" Mizuki chuckled as he pulled out three Kunai "So I'll do all of Konoha one last favor and rid you from this world." He stepped forward "Any last words… Kyuubi."

Naruto chuckled and looked up at Mizuki with a smirk startling the man "Where have you been? I found this out years ago. Though that was a nice speech, if I was some clueless idiot."

Mizuki was shocked, but still snarled "So what if you know? It doesn't changed the fact that you're going die!" At that moment he hurled the kunai. One landed between his head, the second in his heart, and the last in the center of his stomach. For a moment there was a deathly silence then Naruto simply popped in smoke. "WHAT?!"

As if on cue three chains flew out of the brush, and wrapped around Mizuki. Naruto stepped out his palm having a swirling vortex "Well that definitely explains your unnecessary kill shots."

Mizuki was enraged beyond belief he was fooled by him again, but he quickly smirked "You think this will hold me you forget I am a Chunin!" Mizuki tried to switch places, but found that he couldn't call upon his chakra

"I'm sure you noticed by now, but I'll enlighten you." Naruto held out a slip in his hand "Chakra Suspension Tags. Nifty little things aren't they?" he then held up another seal tag "And this little one has our entire little conversation." In the distance a flare went off in the distance signaling that the group had finished and met with the finishing Chunin. "Oh would you look at that? The exam's over…. Let's go meet with them shall we?" Naruto grinned evilly, while Mizuki paled

Center of Training Ground Eight

"Where is he? We already lit the flare." Ino tapped her foot restlessly.

Iruka stood eyeing the path in which he believed they would come from "I'm sure their fine Ino." He turned his gaze to Kurenai "Are you sure Naruto wasn't exaggerating?"

Kurenai didn't respond for a moment "Naruto has been many things, but he has always been sure of what he says. He's more mature than most his age because of the very thing he contains." Kurenai stated and looked at Iruka "So I'm inclined to believe my own student…"

Kurenai was suddenly silent jerking her head back to where she was looking before. Iruka frowned "Kurenai…"

"Shhh!" Kurenai hushed him as she solely focused on the direction she believed Naruto was. Sure enough there was a sound building up in noise as she began to see a shape form in the distance "Is that…." Kurenai's eyes widened "Move!"

In the next instant all four ninja in the clearing jumped away as the said form collided in the center of the clearing. As dust hung in the air a young Naruto wasn't far behind as he jumped into the clearing. As he walked in he was dusting off his hands admiring his handiwork as the others joined him.

"Naruto!" Iruka yelled as he jumped back in "What was that?!"

Naruto looked over at Iruka and grinned "It's not some much a 'What', but more of a 'Who'." He turned his attention back to the clearing as the dust settled "Isn't that right… Mizuki-sensei?"

Iruka's eyes widened "Mizuki?!" He looked at the center and sure there was Mizuki attempting to sit up while still wrapped in chains "Naruto release him, the Exam is over."

Naruto scoffed "As if, he tried to kill me."

Iruka glared at Naruto "That was the point Naruto. This was to test if you could handle the stress of a potentially death like situation."

"I understand that sensei." Naruto stated glaring at Mizuki "but he blatantly told me he was going to, I have the proof. For a very stupid reason for that matter."

Mizuki who finally managed to sit chuckled maniacally "Oh stupid is it? The fact that you're the Kyuubi no Kitsune is a stupid reason?"

Iruka's eyes widened, and prayed that Naruto wouldn't do anything stupid "Mizuki! That was forbidden!"

Mizuki growled "He already knew, but I wonder if your team knew." He sneered at Naruto

It was silent for a moment before Ino stepped closer to Naruto "Well yeah we knew, after all he did tell us."

Hinata nodded in agreement "He told us shortly after we were a team."

"Not that it would matter." Kurenai stated, proudly standing behind her students "After all it's not like he decided to become the _container."_

Naruto grinned at Mizuki "See? Not everyone thinks like you do Mizuki-teme." Mizuki scowled from his position and Naruto chuckled and looked over at Iruka "Well Iruka-sensei…" Iruka turned to look at his little brother in all but blood "How's that for a completing a C-Rank neh?" Naruto grinned brighter

Iruka shook his with a small smile _"Naruto sometimes you're just too much."_

…

Hokage Office Several Days Later (Evening)

Hiruzen puffed on his pipe trying to relax his nerves. One of his own academy instructors had been one of Orochimaru's spies. After Mizuki had been detained and sent to Ibiki and Anko at T&I they had found out he was a spy and was commissioned with the task of stealing their Scroll of Sealing. What was more he had blatantly broken his own law, but to his relief his team knew of his burden.

 _"_ _I'm far too old for this job."_ Hiruzen thought with a sigh. He groaned as he sat and eyed his 'Important' stack of paperwork.

This paperwork was for him, and him alone. Not for a clone to do. Most of this was clan issues within Konoha most about expanding out for the Hyuuga's, and increased funding to both the Aburame's for their Hive research and the Akamichi's for their restaurants and food pill research. Though that was not the most problematic in fact it was something that the entire village needed sorely. A Seal Maker, or more specifically an Explosive Seal Maker.

It was common knowledge that most ninja's steered clear from the art of Fuinjutsu. Sadly this hurt them more in the long run. It was to his knowledge that at least Iwa, and Cloud had an entire department set up for Fuinjutsu. This in turn lead to them have them a steady supply of specific Notes of their choosing. Konoha at best maybe had a few Ninja's that could make Explosive Notes, but sadly they were not pursuing to make it their career or be stuck behind a desk long enough to do enough of them. Then there was Jiraya of the Sannin. He helped when he could, but it wasn't enough regardless of the pristine quality.

Hiruzen scratched his chin in deep thought _"I could start our own Fuin Corp, but what would be the point if no one actually knows or wants to participate?"_ As he sat in thought a knock sounded on his door. He turned his attention away from the problem and addressed the door "Come in."

The door opened revealing an excited Naruto and Ino "Hokage-jiji!" Naruto grinned and stepped forward to his desk

Hiruzen chuckled "It is good to see you well Naruto-kun, and you as well Ino-chan. How are you my dear?"

Ino smiled and bowed politely "I am doing well Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen smiled and nodded in kind "Now what brings you two to my office?"

Naruto's grin threatened to get wide "I got something that will knock your socks off!"

"Is that so? What would that be?" Hiruzen chuckled, knowing to never doubt the boy

"It would be better to show you Hokage-sama." Ino stated "If you have the time for that at least." Hiruzen's eyebrows rose in curiosity "It's not something we can really show in here. I would know I was there for the first few test runs."

Now he was fully intrigued "Is that so?" He gazed up at the clock then back down to the paperwork _"Bah, it can wait. Besides this may very well be worth it."_ Hiruzen stood behind his desk "Very well. We can use the ceiling. Would that suffice?"

Naruto thought for a moment and nodded "Yeah that's perfect!"

The three went up through the Hokage building at leisurely pace. Hiruzen noted the cards that Naruto was holding had the Kanji for the Elements upon them but didn't look further into it. He didn't want to ruin the surprise for himself.

As they arrived at the surface Ino and Hiruzen stood off to the side while Naruto took up a position on the far side of the roof "You are free to do as see fit Naruto-kun."

Naruto nodded and threw out six cards; Five making a pentagon shape and having an Element symbol upon them and one in the center that disappeared shortly after it landed. **"Fuin!"**

Naruto slammed his palm onto the ground and five pillars erupted from the Element cards. One made of fire, water, earth, wind, and lightning. Naruto then threw a Kunai towards the Hokage and Ino. The Hokage jerked, and prepared to grab the kunai, but instead it bounced away revealing a transparent barrier from all five sides.

Hiruzen was beyond shocked here before him was true work of art "Naruto-kun…. How?" Shortly after he said the pillars dispersed and the cards on the ground were destroyed befitting their chosen element.

Naruto grinned " **Elemental Configuration**. I worked long and hard on this Fuinjutsu experiment after I found you could convert chakra to Elemental Charka. What you just saw was three years of hard work called the **Element Prison**."

He pulled an extra card "This card has the Kanji of fire on it, and so that means this card converts charka to fire chakra. This is after I finished the seal array and molded it into the finished product here." He pulled his others "These all follow the same principle except this card." He held the card with the Kanji of Charkra upon it "This one goes in the center and converts all chakra inside to maintaining the Prison. The prison itself last's five minutes, but can make it last longer if you….."

Naruto continued on adamantly about his success in his own personal project. While Hiruzen couldn't believe what he had just seen from his surrogate grandson. The boy had solved one the village's most glaring problems once more.

After Naruto finally finished his little rant, Hiruzen took control of the conversation "Naruto-kun, I want to applaud you for your success." Naruto smiled up at Hiruzen "Now let's go back to my office. I have something I wish to discuss with you." Hiruzen placed a hand on both Naruto's and Ino's shoulders, and the Shunshine'd directly into his office. "Now please take a seat."

Naruto and Ino did as they were told _"I wonder what Hokage-jiji wants to discuss?"_

 **"** **More than likely about your Fuinjutsu. It is quite impressive, from what I seen when your mother was my container, your about to reach your mother's level in Fuinjutsu."** Kurama stated from within the seal.

Hiruzen took his seat and addressed Naruto "Once again I must congratulate you on your success Naruto-kun." Naruto, again, grinned with the praise "For this accomplishment I have a proposition for you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow in interest his more mature side coming out "What would that be?"

Hiruzen let out a sigh "It has come to my attention that our village lacks the ability to produce Seals of any kind." That caught Naruto's attention "Jiraya of the Sannin helps when he can, but with his spy network he can't produce as many as we would like to have. The ones that we do have making are rookies and do not devote fully to the art." Naruto nodded in understanding "So I would like to propose to you an on-going B-Rank mission of producing Seals for our village."

Ino's eyes widened in surprise _"An ON-going B-Rank? That's a bit much for seal isn't it?"_

If Naruto was surprised he didn't show it "That high Hokage-jiji? That's a bit much isn't it?"

"Look at this then you tell me." Hiruzen handed Naruto the slip of seals requested by the Ninja stores, ANBU, and Outposts of the Land of Fire.

Naruto's eyes bulged at the sheer amount and looked up at Hiruzen "You're paying for the initial supplies right? I have to at least five hundred clones working on this one order and then keep one hundred active at least once a week just to keep a steady flow."

"Of course, I wouldn't do that to you." Hiruzen chuckled "So I take it that you take on the job?" Naruto nodded, and Hiruzen handed him a billing slip "Here is the village charge slip. Now this will only last until I can arrange for a few more Fuinjutsu practioners. Till then Naruto-kun, Konoha thanks you."

Naruto smiled "It's no problem Hokage-jiji. If it means giving something for my precious people to protect themselves then I have no problems doing this." With that he stood and left the room already planning to execute his order.

Hiruzen watched them leave with a smile. He turned this gaze to the wall with the Yondaime's picture and thought _"You would be proud of your son Minato-kun. He has your spirit and Will of Fire to protect the village for the future. He seems to take after you quite well."_

Hiruzen opened up his desk drawer and pulled out a list. Not just any list, but the list of teams being sent to the Chunin Exams this year. It was a special year indeed, with Iwa and Kumo participating along with Suna. It was sure to be interesting, sadly Kiri couldn't participate due to Civil War issues. Though as he looked at the list he realized that it was definitely going to be quite the show. The Granddaughter of the Tsuchikage would be participating, along with the adoptive younger brother of the Raikage, and finally the three children of Kazekage. It was going to be a big year for the Chunin Exams, though Hiruzen was more along the lines of calling it the Predecessor Exams. Six children of Kages participating along with several clan heirs from the villages. Each of them had a name to live up to, and such they would have to give it their all. That is of course after he reveals Naruto's true heritage to the village, and by proxy the other villages. He would do so one week prior to the exams, and he was sure it would be quite the show.

Hiruzen chuckled to himself in amusement _"Maybe I'm not as old for this as I thought?"_ At that moment his secretary came in with another batch of paperwork all labeled under Shinobi Clan Business. He scowled and hung his head in defeat _"I spoke far too soon…."_

 **So how'd you like it? I myself was back and forth on it, but that was just me, but I assure you it will get better in the long run. Now onto the juicy stuff like the poll.**

 **Tiger Summoning won by a long shot with Toad Summoning coming in second. So here's what I would like to do. I'm doing another poll.  
This time around I'm doing four choices, but one is unique.**

 **Tiger Summoning  
Toad Summoning  
Wolf Summoning  
Wolf/Tiger Summoning**

 **It was close but from what I've read you guys also wanted Wolves which practically tied with Dragons. I didn't want to do Foxes because I've seen it done before, and I've already put together some ideas for the four options above. As for the duo Summoning I thought it would be neat to do if you guys want to. Because in my opinion the two together could be quite interesting. Naruto has strength of a wolf as of now, but also the grace and cunning of a tiger in my opinion. Though I'll leave it to you. As for how it would happen well that depends on the results here after this chapter... because it may or may take place next chapter...*hint* so quick responses if you please.**

 **Now for Reviews:**

 **Darth Selendis: I'm glad you see it that way, that was one reason I did what I did. Besides giving Naruto a mother figure. Yeah I'm going to have Kurenai be the mother figure this time around instead of Tsunade. Considering that personally I thought she got one of the biggest cop-outs ever. Though she will still play a role in the story don't you worry.**

 **bankai777: Well there is two answers to your question. The actual canon Ino I think Minato would approve when she grew up from her fan girlish quirks. As for my Ino that I've 'refurbished', I guess is the right word, he would appreciate the fact that she was there for him all through his childhood and still sticks by him today.**

 **Adjuster: Thanks for pointing that out! It's my goal to find song Lyrics or Titles to fit the chapter since I made the actual title from another song. May as well stick with the trend right?**

 **drakord: While you do bring up a good point this would mean I would have to confront Orochimaru head on really early... I'd rather not because my Naruto is no where near ready for that. Not till he finishes first form Beast Transformation.**

 **kitsuneswiftpaw: Thank you for those kinds words good sir...or ma'am.**

 **warrof: Well I hope I met your expectations!**

 **Alright Everyone that's it for today, and I again apologize for taking far too long.**

 **As Always Everyone please support the Official Release and Enjoy! Later Days!**


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